The International Air Transport Association is endorsing a new location for Manila’s international gateway because of the congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“Whether you need one airport, two airports or three airports, I think you have to build it somewhere. Obviously there’s no enough space around the current airports,” IATA regional director for airport, passenger, cargo and security in Asia-Pacific Vinoop Goel told reporters.
“If you have to build a new airport, make sure that it’s big enough because from a passenger airline point of view, having multiple airports requires you to land in one airport and in some cases navigate through Manila traffic and take off from the other airports, which you don’t want,” he said.
IATA in a report last year urged the Philippines to build a new greenfield airport with sufficient capacity to meet Manila’s aviation needs that is situated no greater than 50 kilometers from the city center as a long-term solution.
IATA projected annual passengers to reach 140 million by 2035, up from 60 million in 2014.
The Philippine government wants to build a new international airport that is 25 to 30 minutes away from Naia, which is expected to reach its full capacity soon.
Jica said Naia would hit overcapacity this year, by which time the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers. By 2040, passenger traffic would reach 101.49 million.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency identified Sangley Point in Cavite and central Manila Bay as the ideal locations for the new international airport.
Belle Corp., a property developer led by tycoon Henry Sy and Solar Group’s All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp., proposed to build a new international airport, seaport, economic zone and mixed-used real estate development off the coast of Sangley Point in Cavite worth up to $50 billion.
ARRC plans to reclaim 2,500 hectares at Sangley Point. The company expects to complete the reclamation in 12 months, according to RRC president Wilson Tieng.
Tieng said the new airport would be designed to have a capacity of 50 million passengers and would be completed in five years.
San Miguel Corp’s president Ramon S. Ang, however, proposed to build a new airport in Bulacan province, a revision of its 2014 proposal for a $10-billion airport on reclaimed land in Manila Bay.