SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) will forward to Malacañang next week its proposal to build a $10-billion airport in the capital. Will it pass scrutiny?
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said their proposal would be presented for President Benigno Aquino III’s approval on April 29.
SMC, which owns part of legacy carrier Philippine Airlines, wants to build an international airport that will replace the congested and 3-decade-old Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
A Nikkei report earlier said that SMC would build a $10-billion airport with 4 runways on an 800-hectare property.
That will be double the 400 hectares being occupied by NAIA, which has two runways.
Nikkei said the airport project would be offered under a build-operate-transfer scheme and ownership would be turned over to the government after 25 years.
SMC’s proposal is unsolicited, meaning it will have to undergo Swiss challenge once approved by the President.
The government allocated P1.3 billion for the rehabilitation of the NAIA Terminal 1 and another P1.9 billion for the retrofitting of Terminal 3. Both projects are eyed to be completed in time for the country’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in 2015.
Terminal 1 operates beyond its design capacity of 4.5 million and now handles over 8 million passengers. Terminal 3, on the other hand, operates at about half of its 13 million capacity. The government wants to transfer some of the passenger traffic to Terminal 3.
Other plans
The government has its own plans for an alternative airport in Manila.
The Department of Transportation and Communications eyes to put up a new international airport by 2027, while it develops the congested NAIA and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. (READ: Another in’tl airport near Metro Manila?)
The plans are part of an airport roadmap that seeks to address growing passenger volume in the country. The Japan International Cooperation Agency projects passengers from the greater capital region to hit 106.7 million by 2040 from 31.88 million in 2012.
DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said they were looking at Sangley Point in Cavite and Laguna de Bay as possible sites for the new airport. – Rappler.com
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