Yuchengco airport project receives PCC clearance

The Yuchengco Family’s Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) project received clearance from the Philippine Competition Committee (PCC) [link] upon a finding that the SPIA project is “unlikely to result in a substantial lessening, restriction, or prevention of competition in the relevant market.” The SPIA project is a public-private partnership joint venture development between the Metro Pacific Investments-led Cavitex Holdings and the Yuchengco Family’s House of Investments [HI 3.65, up 3.1%; 2% avgVol]. The SPIA was awarded to Cavitex and HI two years ago. The first phase is expected to be complete in 2028 when the first of its four planned runways will be operational. The entire project is estimated to cost approximately $11 billion (~P634 billion).

MB bottom-line: It’s nice to see this cursed project getting some uncomplicated good news. Remember all of the initial management by Cavite’s former Governor? All of the failed machinations to get the project approved with a blacklisted Chinese state corporation, all of the odd media blunders causing some of the country’s biggest conglomerates to issue breathless clarifications. Now with this PCC clearance, the project has one of its biggest external hurdles behind it and the parties can focus on getting plans finalized. This project is an incredible amount of economic activity just waiting to be unleashed in the area, and the airport will provide much-needed competition to the San Miguel [SMC 88.25, up 0.3%; 12% avgVol] stranglehold on Metro Manila’s airways between NAIA and the New Manila International Airport that SMC is building in Bulacan. 

Merkado Barkada is a free daily newsletter on the PSE, investing and business in the Philippines. You can subscribe to the newsletter or follow on Twitter to receive the full daily updates.