Duterte inaugurates Sangley airport project in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte inaugurated yesterday the Sangley Airport development project in Cavite, seen to lessen flight delays and air traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

With a new commercial airport under construction, Duterte is proud that the terminal at Sangley Airport is now being developed to become an international hub, and vowed to ride his last flight as President via Sangley to Davao, optimistic that the hub will be finished by the time he ends his term in 2022.

Reports said the  team of MacroAsia and China Communications Construction Corp. was the sole bidder to develop the $10-billion Sangley Point International Airport. The 1,500-hectare master-planned international airport hub will feature four runways, airside and landside facilities and can accommodate up to 130 million passengers annually.

The project will also enable the transfer of NAIA’s General Aviation Area (Gen-Av) and its hangars, which still occupy a large portion of the international airport, to Sangley Point as one option to ease the congestion problem.

The move was supported by Philippine Airlines (PAL) which said that they will support the government’s decision to move Gen-Av operations out of NAIA.

Any measure to reduce air traffic congestion at NAIA will not only improve airlines’ flight schedule reliability but also enhance passenger convenience, PAL said.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Arthur Tugade announced earlier that he would soon transfer the Gen-Av airplanes from its present location to Sangley Point.

“Owners of Gen-Av aircraft have agreed that they will transfer to Sangely as soon as the hangar facilities exclusively for them are built,” Tugade recently said in a radio interview.

With two years remaining in his term, Duterte, in his speech during the inauguration, urged business groups and individuals dealing with government not to corrupt officials or they will lose their businesses altogether.

“Do not try to tempt the guards of the Cabinet, hindi ako (not me). Wag nyo talagang gawin yun (do not do that). You will not only lose your business, you will lose your funds,” said Duterte. – With Rudy Santos