SMC taps 3 foreign partners for Bulacan airport

MANILA, Philippines — Food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is tapping three international companies involved in building world-class airports to design and construct its P734-billion airport project in Bulacan.

SMC said yesterday it has engaged the services of global firms Groupe ADPi, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs to design and build its proposed New Manila International Airport project.

All three companies were involved in building world-class airports including Singapore’s Changi Airport, Atlanta Airport and France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. 

Aside from the three firms, SMC said it would also engage a world-class airport operator to help manage the country’s future premier gateway.

“This is our biggest investment in a single project to date, one that will definitely impact the lives of millions of Filipinos and the country in general – all the more reason for us to push for greater sustainability and choose the best people to work with us,” SMC president and COO Ramon Ang said.

SMC said the airport’s initial designs envision “a future-ready gateway focusing on overall passenger experience and sustainable technologies consistent with the needs of the environment and the local communities of Bulacan and nearby provinces.”

The Swiss challenge period for the New Manila International

Airport project ended last July 31, with SMC’s proposal going unchallenged.

Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo earlier told The STAR that the government is poised to issue the notice of award to SMC anytime this week.

Meanwhile, Ang assured fisherfolks who will be affected by the project that they will have better homes in relocation sites with fishing power boats where then can easily re-establish their livelihood.

As soon as SMC gets final approval from the government, he said it would officially start meaningful and productive engagement with all concerned stakeholders, especially the affected communities.

“This project’s success is anchored on helping support the local fishing industry. We are in the process of identifying areas where together we can build a fishing community that will last for generations to come,” said Ang, noting the company’s plan to make Bulacan the country’s seafood capital similar to what happened to Japan’s Tsukiji.

Ang said the project would “provide more and better livelihood opportunities and not to take them away.”

SMC will build the proposed airport on a 2,500-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, about 30 kilometers northeast of Metro Manila, at no cost to the government.

The proposed airport, which will be capable of accommodating 20 million passengers a year, is designed to address congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

SMC said the project is expected to fuel trillion of dollars in economic activity annually, create an estimated 20 million direct and indirect jobs, bring in 30 million foreign tourists in the country, and decongest Metro Manila with plans to integrate the complex to a larger infrastructure ecosystem that includes new and existing expressways and mass transit systems.

“Bulacan’s local industries will not only survive, they will also grow. With a major international airport at their doorstep, fisherfolk, micro entrepreneurs, and local businesses will have a huge, ready market for their products, and even a means to ship them to other provinces or export them,” Ang said.