SMC's P700-B Bulacan airport proposal up for NEDA Board's deliberation

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp.'s proposal to build a new international airport in Bulacan worth P700 billion is now up for deliberation of the National Economic and Development Authority board.

This was confirmed by Transportation Secretary Secretary Arthur Tugade on Friday, saying his department examined and approved SMC's unsolicited proposal.

"Last week, we forwarded to NEDA...not for approval, for deliberation," Tugade told reporters during the Philippine Aviation Day on Friday.

Of the 2,500 hectares to be covered by the project, 1,168 hectares will be an airport complex, while the remaining 1,332 hectares will serve as a city complex.

Construction of the new Bulacan airport is expected to be completed in six years after it is approved by the government.

In the same media interview on Friday, Tugade said the Department of Transportation is now awaiting for a formal proposal from a private party to develop an international airport in Sangley Point Cavite.

But Tugade made it clear that the government is open to private sector proposals as long as they don't require state subsidies and won't prompt airlines to transfer operations.

SMC is proposing the Bulacan airport as an international gateway that will eventually replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

As the Philippines starts building more roads and modernizing ports, the private sector is still having a hard time finding its role in the current government’s ambitious infrastructure plan, with President Rodrigo Duterte favoring foreign money to fund the big infrastructure push. But unlike his predecessor, the Duterte is more welcoming of unsolicited proposals, while criticizing the slow progress of Private-Public Partnership initiatives.