San Miguel Aerocity gets franchise for Bulacan airport

San Miguel Aerocity has been granted a franchise to construct domestic and international airports in Bulacan, after the bill that awarded it had not been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte within 30 days after his office had received it.

Republic Act No. 11506 lapsed into law on December 20. It spans 50 years and will end with San Miguel turning over the airport to the government after it enjoys a decade of tax breaks in construction, development, and maintenance.

The company will be exempted from paying income and real estate taxes beyond the 10-year period unless the Bureau of Internal Revenue declares that the company has already benefitted from the deal.

The franchise came as fisherfolk and civil society groups sought a writ of kalikasan from the Supreme Court to stop construction of its biggest project.

Why does this matter?

The P740-billion ($15.4 billion*) Bulakan, Bulacan airport called the New Manila International Airport has been envisioned to decongest air traffic in the deteriorating Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City in the National Capital Region.

The airport will stand on 2,500 hectares of coastal property that will be a gateway to a developing industrial, commercial, and government center.

San Miguel Corporation, which is the mother company of Aerocity, earlier announced that construction will begin in the first quarter of 2021.

Dutch dredging company Boskalis Philippines will develop the land after clinching the P83-billion ($1.73-billion ) contract to do so. – Rappler.com