The Philippine government is set to give its final approval of San Miguel Corporation’s proposed Bulacan Airport, dubbed as one of the biggest airport in the world, by the end of the year or early 2019.
Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso said that giving the approval to the proposal is crucial as the Bulacan airport is seen as one of the possible alternatives to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to decongest the country’s main gateway.
Reinoso said the Php700 billion airport proposal is currently in its final stages.
“Hopefully, if everything is agreed upon, the proponent can be granted final approval and award of the contract by early next year or hopefully toward the end of this year,” Reinoso said.
Earlier, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said that they are exhausting all measures to ensure that the construction of the airport will be approved within the year as senators underscore the need for an alternative gateway in the country.
Earlier, San Miguel president Ramon Ang revealed that Bulacan Airport is set to become one of the biggest airports not only in Asia but in the world.
In his speech during Far Eastern University’s 90th General Commencement Exercises where he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Business Engineering Honoris Causa, Ang shared his company’s plans in the field of infrastructure, particularly their proposed Bulacan Airport.
“The Bulacan Airport will be one of the biggest airports in Asia and the world,” Ang said.
If approved by the government, the Bulacan airport will be named New Manila International Airport.
The business tycoon underscored that the airport will help boost the country’s employment and tourism. Over 1 million direct and indirect jobs will be available for overseas Filipino workers and locals during its construction phase.
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“It will have six parallel runways good for 200 million passengers equipped with mass transit. It will create 40 million jobs and bring in 20 million foreign tourists a year. A comparable country like Thailand with a population of 100 million brought in 30 million tourists,” Ang said.
SMC submitted a proposal to build, operate, and maintain an airport in Bulacan. The 1,168-hectare airport can accommodate over 200 million passengers annually, more than triple than Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA) capacity.
A city complex will also be built at a 2,500-hectare area along Manila Bay in Bulacan, Bulacan.
This is flood prone area. I hope it is flood proof.