The Japan International Cooperation Agency is set to present the feasibility study on the proposed P435.93-billion international gateway in Sangley Point in Cavite to the Transport Department this month.
“They have agreed to give us the feasibility study this month,” Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told reporters.
The new international airport, which the Jica study recommended at Sangley Point in Cavite, can accommodate 55 million passengers a year and 400,000 aircraft movements.
The proposed airport is projected to be operational by 2025.
The government wants to build a new international airport that is 25 to 30 minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which will reach its full capacity as early as 2018.
Jica said Naia would hit overcapacity this year, by which time the terminal will handle 37.78 million passengers. By 2040, passenger traffic would reach 101.49 million.
At end-2012, Naia accommodated 31.88 million passengers, exceeding the 30 million yearly optimal capacity of the terminal. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35 million passengers per year.
Abaya, however, said bidding out the project in the current administration would be “difficult” as the agency must get approval from the National Economic and Development Authority.