Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi welcomed yesterday the planned construction of a P3-billion complex in Taguig that will include an international airport.
Cusi said the current trend worldwide is the construction of city-airports or airport-cities to help spur economic development.
He said the Bohol government is doing the same with the creation of a new international airport in Panglao Island.
“The MIAA has been saying all along that the driver of development this century would be airports,” Cusi said, reacting to reports that Taguig and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (Llda) will form a 50-50 joint venture to reclaim and develop 3,000 hectares of offshore area.
The inclusion of an airport in the project came about because of the need for a bigger airport to serve Metro Manila. It was also inspired by the success of airport cities like Jebel Ali Airport City in Dubai, according to Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga.
Cusi said even China is currently in a race to build 100 airports from now until 2020 to connect their vast hinterlands with the rest of their eastern seaboard.
He said the Taguig airport would be an alternative to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), adding that the former military airbase in Clark would remain as a major hub to serve the northern side of the country.
Cusi also said the MIAA has not been contacted by either Tiñga or the LLDA chief Edgardo Manda. He believes the participation of the MIAA and the Civil Aviation Authorities of the Philippines is necessary if the planned airport pushes through.
He said that one immediate problem is how to avoid the air traffic from NAIA getting entangled with the future air traffic in Taguig since the two places are relatively near one another.
“They can fund the feasibility studies in coordination with us but definitely we can’t have NAIA and Taguig operating at the same time. There will be a need for national policy decision,” Cusi said.
Meanwhile, a city official said Taguig is the best site for a much bigger and more modern airport, compared to other cities in Metro Manila.
“If plan pushes through, this area near Barangay Napindan would have to be reclaimed so that construction of the airport would immediately commence,” Councilor Allan Paul Cruz said.Cruz, who chairs the city council committee on land use, zoning and planning, said the plan is still in the drawing board and Tiñga is continuously holding talks with representatives from the Office of the President and the Department of Transportation and Communications concerning the airport project.He also pointed out that this project will help the city become a “premier business district” through real property tax collections, more jobs and investments from local and foreign groups.
“If ever, with this project, the city will earn income through the collection of real property tax. More jobs will also be available for the city residents and commercial establishments or buildings will rise near the airport area,” Cruz said adding that they also expect the project will draw investments from local and foreign groups.