The Transportation Department is on a mission to enhance mobility and connectivity by completing major airport projects before the end of the Duterte administration in 2022.
“Under the Duterte administration, we are committed to improving existing airlines and creating new airports,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.
“These are our commitment in order to have mobility and connectivity,” he said.
One of the accomplishments of the agency was the issuance of the notice of award to San Miguel Holdings Corp. for the Bulacan International Airport project in Bulakan, Bulacan.
“This new international airport is important in helping ease the congestion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport,” Tugade said.
“Together with the expansion of Clark Airport and the construction of additional facilities at Sangley Airport, Bulacan Airport is a part of ‘baskets of solutions’ to bring further connectivity to the Filipino people,” he said.
The Bulacan Airport will have a design capacity of 100 million passengers per year but can be expanded to 200 million. With four parallel runways, it targets 240 aircraft movements per hour.
The project will also include the construction of an 8.4-kilometer tollway that will connect the airport to the North Luzon Expressway in Marilao, Bulacan.
The new international gateway is expected to be operational within four to six years from the start of the construction. SMHC aims to break ground and start the actual construction of the project before the end of this year.
San Miguel Corp. president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said the $15-billion Bulacan airport project would generate over a million direct and indirect jobs, improve the quality of life of thousands of families and give rise to small industries in Bulacan and neighboring provinces that will support workers.
“Over and above that, once completed, this new international gateway will help in significantly boosting tourism—leading to million more new jobs across many industries all over the country. With more tourists, more flights and more options for air passengers, travel costs will also go down,” Ang said.
“Another major benefit is traffic decongestion for Metro Manila. By locating this airport in Bulacan and connecting it via mass rail and expressways to Metro Manila, it will unclog traffic in major cities near the current airport,” he said.
Tugade also said the turnover of the operation and maintenance of Clark International Airport to the private sector would further improve its services.
The DOTr and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority turned over the O&M of the new terminal at CIA to Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp.
The new terminal, the first hybrid PPP project implemented under the Duterte administration, was 74.58-percent completed as of July and would be operational by 2020. By then, the airport capacity would treble from the current 4.2 million.
LIPAD Corp. is the consortium of Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. and Changi Airports Philippines (I) Pt. Ltd.
Aside from handling the O&M of the new terminal and its existing facilities, the consortium is also set to develop the commercial assets, operate and maintain project facilities and fit-out the new terminal.
The government is also in the process of improving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport through the unsolicited proposal of NAIA Consortium.
The consortium’s members are Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., AEDC, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
The P102-billion proposal involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of NAIA, upgrading airside facilities, developing commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhancing passenger comfort and experience and elevating the status of NAIA as the country’s premier international gateway.
The project aims to increase NAIA’s capacity up to 65 million passengers per year from about 40 million at present. It will elevate NAIA to the level of major regional airports such as Changi in Singapore and Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok. It is also seen to become a viable transit hub for the ASEAN region.
The NAIA Consortium tapped Changi Airports International Pte. Ltd. of Singapore to provide technical support in the areas of master planning, operations optimization and commercial development.
Besides building and improving existing airports, the DOTr also teamed up with local airlines to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The airlines committed to help in the decongestion of NAIA through an improved on-time flight performance, supporting the development of other gateways including Sangley Airport in Cavite and improving the travel experience of air passengers.