MANILA —The government is committed to the development of airports near the National Capital Region to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and prevent paralysis of operations in case a similar Xiamen incident happens in the future, transport and finance officials said Monday.
During Senate iinvestigation into the Xiamen aircraft that skidded off a NAIA runway on August 16, officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Finance (DOF) told the Committee on Public Services that proposals to rehabilitate NAIA, and develop the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, Sangley Point in Cavite, and the new airport in Bulacan were already accepted.
DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the government should fast-track the approval and implementation of the multi-airport plan to ensure that all passengers, including tourists coming to the Philippines, avoid inconvenience.
"On the call of this Honorable Committee for government to fast-track the implementation of the airport proposals, we completely agree," he said.
But on the construction of the Bulacan airport worth PHP735 billion, Dominguez expressed concerned on the financial viability of San Miguel Holdings Corp., the original proponent, in financing the massive project.
Dominguez noted that the SMHC had total equity of PHP60 billion.
"Financially, at this point, (SMHC is) incapable of undertaking a PHP700-billion project," he said.
He underscored the need for its parent company, the San Miguel Corp. (SMC), to guarantee the Bulacan airport project as he believes SMC's capitalization is enough to finance the bid.
At the start of the hearing, Senate committee chairperson Grace Poe called for the speedy construction of new airports and expansion of existing ones to address the congestion of Metro Manila's main gateway, noting that the completion of an airport in Bulacan would greatly ease the overcrowding.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), meanwhile, said the construction will not start in 2018, but the government is hopeful a deal will be made by 2019.
"We hope so, knowing San Miguel, for example, their MRT 7, as soon as they are able to secure the final approval from the government, without waiting for the financial closing, they already started," DOTr Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso Jr. said in an interview.
He noted that the government targets to approve a proposal within the year.
"They (SMH) committed to submit the revised concession agreement, and agreed last week on the basic principle, we would review that. If it's acceptable to us, then we will move to the preparation of the documents for the Swiss challenge and submit all documents to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for clearance then ICC (Investments Coordination Committee) before we can publish," he said.
The NEDA Board, in April 2018, approved the unsolicited proposal of San Miguel to develop the Bulacan airport project.
The project will undergo a Swiss challenge, where interested party will be invited to match or outbid the unsolicited offer of the original proponent.
As for the expansion of Clark airport, the Senate panel told that the completion is expected in 2020. The development is seen to increase Clark International Airport's capacity to 12 million.
Talks are also underway to upgrade NAIA, which will be developed by a "super consortium" composed of seven conglomerates.
Once completed, the airport's capacity is seen to balloon to 65 million passengers.
NAIA, which only has a capacity of 31 million passengers, booked 42.5 million passengers last year. (PNA)
