Sangley airport contractors get 90-day extension to finalize deal
MANILA, Philippines — Contractors of the controversial Sangley International Airport project secured a fresh extension to submit requirements to finalize the deal with the Cavite provincial government.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, MacroAsia Corp. said Cavite pushed back the deadline set last September 9 by another “90 days immediately after commercial air travel resumes between the Philippines and China.”
The exact deadline remains unclear, but some international flights suspended during lockdown restarted last July 8.
Quoting the letter from Cavite government, the Lucio Tan-led firm said the extension considered the “continuing adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the exigency of the service.”
“Please note that this additional extension is granted subject to the firm commitment of the Consortium to fully comply with the requirements on or before the new deadline,” the provincial government said in a letter to MacroAsia shared in the disclosure.
Documents required from MacroAsia and its partner, China Communication Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), are necessary to seal the award of the project and proceed with actual construction. The latest pushback means fresh delays in the groundbreaking, initially set in the second quarter before the pandemic messed with building plans.
This is the second time the deadline was extended for MacroAsia and its Chinese counterpart. The provincial government originally gave the duo until second week of June to finalize the joint venture, but the group said lockdowns to curb the pandemic “delayed our process.” The deadline was then moved last Sept. 9 before the latest reprieve.
Early this month, Malacanang disregarded US’s own blacklisting of CCCC and other Chinese firms, and insisted Sangley Airport and other China-funded projects would proceed as planned. The Trump administration banned CCCC and 23 other firms from purchasing US products for having a direct hand in developing artificial islands in South China Sea.
Apart from Clark and Bulacan airports funded by Megawide Corp. and San Miguel Corp., the proposed international gateway in Sangley is meant to decongest the ageing Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Once constructed by 2022, Sangley is expected to host 25 million passengers annually, which will rise up to 130 million by 2050 through succeeding upgrades.
The project’s first phase covered by the contract awarded to MacroAsia and CCCC is estimated to cost P208.5 billion. Including future developments, the entire undertaking has a price tag of P550 billion.
The planned international airport between MacroAsia and Cavite government is also separate from the already-operating hub for private jets and cargoes developed by the transportation department and opened last February.
On Thursday, shares in MacroAsia fell 1.05% to close at P4.69 apiece.
- Latest
- Trending
