San Miguel Corp. remains keen on building an international airport in Bulacan province and is not interested in the bidding for the operations and maintenance of Clark International Airport under the hybrid public-private partnership model.
“No, I think if ever, we will just be concentrating in this Bulacan airport,” San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said when asked if he was interested to the join the bidding for Clark O&M.
State-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority earlier said it would roll out the bidding for the construction of the P12.5-billion expansion of Clark International Airport.
The auction for O&M for Clark airport will immediately follow after the award of the bidding for the construction. The winning bidder for the O&M will have inputs in the design of the new airport.
Ang said its unsolicited offer to build an international airport in Bulacan was already submitted to the Transportation Department.
“I think Secretary [Arthur] Tugade is evaluating it and we have been in continuous in talks about the technical matters. So I hope soon DOTr [Department of Transportation] can decide on it,” Ang said.
He said the proposed Bulacan airport would not be in conflict with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark airport.
“This is going to be an independent airport that can operate and co-exist with Clark and Manila,” Ang said, referring to his proposal.
San Miguel offered to build the new airport in Bulacan, north of Manila, in a revision from its 2014 proposal for a $10-billion airport on a reclaimed part of Manila Bay in the southern part of Metro Manila.
The conglomerate wanted to build an airport with at least four runways and covering 2,000 hectares in Bulacan towns near Manila Bay.
All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp., a consortium led by by tycoon Henry Sy and the Tieng family, offered to build a new international airport in Sangley.
ARRC plans to reclaim 2,500 hectares at Sangley Point. The company expects to complete the reclamation in 12 months.
The new airport would be designed to have a capacity of 50 million to 100 million passengers which would be completed in five years.
Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo earlier said that the proposal of San Miguel and AARC to build an international airport in Manila was put on the back burner because the priority of the government was to improve Naia and Clark International Airport.
“It’s still there. It’s still being considered. But it’s not immediate. It’s more of medium term. They [DOTr] are still accepting these proposals but it has to take backseat for now,” Tamayo said.
