SMC revives proposal for $10-B new airport

MANILA, Philippines - Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has revived a proposal to put up a $10-billion airport to replace the congested and more than three-decade old Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang confirmed the conglomerate is set to present to President Aquino next month the proposed international gateway to be situated in an 800-hectare property in Manila.

Nikkei reported that SMC plans to build the $10-billion international gateway that would have four runways and higher passenger capacity as against the single-runway of NAIA located in a 400-hectare property in Pasay City.

Nikkei also reported that the airport project would be offered to the government under a build-operate-transfer scheme where ownership would be turned over to the government after 25 years.

SMC has a 49 percent stake in national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) along with Lucio Tan, who owns the other 51 percent.

The diversified conglomerate announced plans to put up an international airport early last year and was supposed to present the plan to Aquino in February last year.

Ang, however, announced in March last year that it was postponing indefinitely the presentation of the proposed international gateway, citing unclear policy from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

The government has allocated P1.3 billion for the rehabilitation of the NAIA Terminal 1 being undertaken by DM Consunji Inc. and another P1.9 billion for the retrofitting of NAIA Terminal 3 being conducted by Takenaka Corp. of Japan to be completed in time for the country’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled in 2015.

The NAIA Terminal 1 is congested and operating beyond its design capacity of 4.5 million passengers as it is now handling over eight million passengers.

The retrofitting of NAIA 3 would help accommodate the excess passengers from NAIA 1 as it is only operating at about half of its total capacity of 13 million passengers a year.

Data from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) showed the number of domestic and international passengers served by NAIA climbed over three percent to 32.865 million last year from 31.877 million in 2012.

For his part, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the government is veering away from unsolicited proposals and pursuing competitive biddings for major infrastructure projects.

Abaya said the DOTC has yet to receive a proposal from SMC regarding the construction of a new airport.

“We haven’t sat down with them but based on policy, that would be an unsolicited proposal. It is not prohibited, however, there is a bias of government against it. We tend toward more open and transparent bids,” he added.

Abaya, however, clarified the DOTC would study the proposal of SMC.

“We will digest it once we have the proposal,” he said.

Abaya earlier said the DOTC is looking at Sangley Point in Cavite and Laguna de Bay, as proposed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as the possible site of a new international gateway.

“But JICA has now firmed up its position on Sangley. That was the report, they are firming that up,” he said.

The DOTC wants to put into operation a new international airport by 2027 with the joint development of the congested NAIA in Manila and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.