DOTr allows San Miguel Corp. to proceed with building Bulacan airport
The “game changer” airport to be built in Bulacan will be the answer to the traffic woes in Metro Manila, according to San Miguel Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang.
On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation ( DOTr) and SMC signed a 50-year concession agreement on the P735-billion Bulacan International airport project.
Under the agreement, San Miguel will undertake the financing, design, construction, supply, completion, testing, commissioning, and operation and maintenance (O&M) of the new international gateway.
“(The) problem is we are adding more than 720,000 Japan and Korean (manufactured) cars. The Indian and German ones were not yet included. 720,000 per year and we don’t phase out the old ones. We don’t even have new highway or bridge that’s why we have this big problem in traffic. One major step is to build this Bulacan airport. Once you finish it, you also solve almost all the traffic,” Ang said.
According to Ang, the condition and discussion they did with Tugade is they can only construct the airport if it will not cause additional congestion in the road.
He said the new gateway will have four parallel runways for faster turnover of aircraft, eight taxiways, a Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) with a design capacity of 100 million to 200 million passengers per year, and airfield facilities and equipment.
Additionally, an eight-kilometer toll road connecting the Bulacan Airport to the North Luzon Expressway will be constructed to aid travellers to and from the airport.
During the signing ceremony, Tugade announced the approval of the Notice to Proceed for San Miguel Aerocity Inc. to start construction.
“In addition, I also created the Project Management Office (PMO) so that the start of our construction will have a guide and direction,” he said,
The transportation secretary expressed his gratefulness to the tycoon for putting into life President Rodrigo Duterte’s wish of a comfortable life for all Filipinos.
“I know there is a great risk but you still bet on it for Filipinos. We are very thankful that there are businessmen who are ready to bet for the Filipinos,” said Tugade.
“With this airport, the Filipino life in terms of travel will become comfortable and convenient. That is the importance of that agreement but in my mind, the most important is the riding public. There will be a Bulacan airport aside from Clark. Let it be battle of commercial competitiveness. And when it becomes a bottle of commercial competitiveness, who benefits? The riding public because the riding public will be given freedom of choice (on what airport they want),” he said.
Tugade said the airport will be a game changer as because it can compete with other airports worldwide.
“We will be able to come up with a facility that will compete with world class airports all over the world,” Tugade said.
The two officials said this airport will have a big impact on the country’s tourism and economy.
According to SMC, the project is expected to fuel trillions of dollars in economic activity, potentially contributing about 9 percent to Gross Domestic Product by 2025 and the estimated impact to the economy will be nearly to P900 billion.
Asked on the possibility of flooding and ground sinking, Ang said they hired a Dutch-Belgium company which is an expert with this kind of project.
He added that they bought equipment and coordinated with the proper government office that will help them solve flooding problem in the areas where the airport will be built.
“We will do it the right way to make sure we will we solve the problem of flooding in the area and of course once it is solved, other areas in Bulacan will also benefit from it,” said Ang.
Tugade also assured SMC that an environmental clearance will be given to assure that everything is being done in a proper way.
On the issue of relocation and right of way, SMC is ready to provide assistance to around 212 families that will be affected by the construction.
“Yesterday, I meet with the governor and vice governor of Bulacan, we agreed that to those who will be affected, I will buy them land and give them money to build a house plus I will send their children to schools,” Ang said.
He said they conducted surveillance in the area on who will be the rightful beneficiaries of the agreement.
The groundbreaking for the gateway is expected by the end of 2019 while it is targeted for operations within four to six years.
Ang said the construction of the airport and the expressway will be simultaneous and done by high-profile companies who are giving offers to him. Ella Dionisio/DMS
