Sangley airport complements Clark – ARRC

MANILA, Philippines - The country needs two international airports, with one located in Sangley and another in Clark, to serve passengers in the northern and southern parts of Luzon as well as cope with future demand, according to All-Asia Resources Reclamation Corp. (ARRC).

“These two are strategically located to serve the northern and southern parts of Luzon. Those in Metro Manila can choose which one is more convenient to them which will also help ease traffic,” ARRC vice chairman Edmund Lim said in a statement yesterday.

ARRC, which is composed of the Tieng family and SM Group’s Belle Corp., plans to build an international airport, seaport as well as mixed use development on reclaimed land off the coast of Sangley Point in Cavite.

“It will be built by our company in partnership with foreign partners without the need for a single cent from the government. We have already signed all the contracts to make this happen. We are ready but we need the government to give its nod,” he said.

Earlier, Roberto Lim, Transportation undersecretary for the aviation sector, said the department has yet to receive an unsolicited proposal from the group.

Through the Sangley integrated complex, ARRC wants to help address congestion in Metro Manila as well as position the Philippines as a manufacturing and export hub in Asia through the Sangley integrated complex.

Apart from the Sangley integrated complex, ARRC intends to rehabilitate the present Danilo Atienza Airport in Sangley, and to build a terminal and operate it to accommodate general aviation aircraft and low-cost carriers, at a cost of P1 billion.

As for Clark, Edmund Lim said the airport would only need to be upgraded.

He added the Clark airport “perhaps should be the one whose operations and maintenance should be privatized,” instead of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), to give way to the development of a new airport.

 NAIA has two intersecting runways and limited space for expansion, especially for a new parallel runway.

“We can have two airports we can be proud of, not just one. Clark is underutilized because it really needs to have a new terminal and infrastructure for easy access. It is the one that must be privatized, not NAIA,” he said.

International think tank Centre for Aviation said in a report, NAIA should only be upgraded but not privatized, so as not to discourage the construction of a new airport.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has also said NAIA no longer has room to expand to cope with current and future growth and must be replaced by a new one, preferably an airport in Sangley.