The Philippines’ Investment Coordination Committee (ICC)-Cabinet Committee (CabCom) has approved San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) unsolicited proposal to construct an airport complex in Bulacan, recommending it for final approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board.
The NEDA Board is chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The project, which has a development cost of P735.63 billion, was approved by the ICC-CabCom on March 28. It involves the construction of a terminal, parallel runways, and airport toll road. Once completed, the airport will be able to accommodate 100 million passengers per annum by its opening year of 2023.
ICC’s approval includes a recommendation to the NEDA Board for negotiations between the Department of Transportation and San Miguel Holdings Corp., whose parent is SMC, on conducting the prescribed Swiss challenge after finalizing the bidding parameters with the Department of Finance.
Being an unsolicited proposal, the project has to undergo Swiss challenge where other parties can challenge the proposal.
SMC’s proposed New Manila International Airport (NMIA) in Bulakan, Bulacan will sit on an area of about 2,500 hectares, consisting of a 1,168-hectare airport complex and a 1,332-hectare city complex. NMIA also envisions a passenger terminal with a capacity of 100 million passengers yearly that can be later expanded.
The airport complex will have four parallel runways, with provisions for another two runways. There is likewise a plan to provide transportation access, which includes a new shoreline expressway, to connect the site to different parts of Metro Manila.
Construction of NMIA is scheduled for six years, and operation and maintenance contract of the airport is for 50 years.
SMC is proposing to make the Bulacan airport an international gateway that will eventually replace the country’s congested main air hub, Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
