$12-B Sangley airport project still hanging
Published Dec 27, 2018 12:00 am
By Emmie V. Abadilla
The US$12-billion unsolicited proposal of businessman Wilson Tieng's consortium to build Sangley Point international airport has been relegated to an “alternative” because the provincial government of Cavite has not submitted the project's complete documents to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
And there's nothing that transport officials could do about it.
“It's still the same, the document is incomplete," confirmed Department of Transportation (DOTr) undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo when asked about updates on the Sangley Point airport.
"It's taking too long and even NEDA is becoming impatient," he acknowledged.
However, “We cannot reject the local government's proposal right away. No matter what you say, it's a local government . The private sector proposed ahead of them but the former is just the alternative,” he reiterated.
Last June 15, DOTr's legal department issued a memorandum citing the Cavite provincial government's lack of technical and financial capability to implement an international airport development project.
The memo maintained that DOTr should not sign an agreement with the Cavite provincial government on the proposed international airport.
But up to now, it's a stalemate.
Earlier, the Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group, Inc., a consortium composed of Solar Group’s All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. and the Sy family’s Belle Corp. submitted an unsolicited proposal to build Philippine Sangley International Airport (PSIA) for $12 billion.
The proposed regional airport hub could accommodate about 120 million passengers a year once fully developed.
The proponents will start with the reclamation of about 2,500 hectares of land north of the Sangley peninsula to construct airport infrastructure plus a commercial establishment to complement the project.
The consortium proposed a concession period of 50 years.
The plan also includes the development of airside and landside facilities along with transportation infrastructure to service the passengers and ensure accessibility of PSIA.
Another crucial portion of the PSIA development plan is the rehabilitation of the Danilo Atienza Air Base, which will be later used as a general aviation airport to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals during the project development phase.
Upon inauguration, the Danilo Atienza Air Base area will be transformed into an “aerotropolis” district where service buildings, office towers, hotels, conference centers and other related developments will be established.
The proposed airport will be designed with two parallel independent runways and sufficient airside and terminal capacity to accommodate future demand for domestic, international and transfer traffic, not only for the Philippines but also for Southeast Asia.
The new airport hub is likewise envisioned to compete with other premier Southeast Asia airports such as the ones in Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore.
And there's nothing that transport officials could do about it.
“It's still the same, the document is incomplete," confirmed Department of Transportation (DOTr) undersecretary for aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo when asked about updates on the Sangley Point airport.
"It's taking too long and even NEDA is becoming impatient," he acknowledged.
However, “We cannot reject the local government's proposal right away. No matter what you say, it's a local government . The private sector proposed ahead of them but the former is just the alternative,” he reiterated.
Last June 15, DOTr's legal department issued a memorandum citing the Cavite provincial government's lack of technical and financial capability to implement an international airport development project.
The memo maintained that DOTr should not sign an agreement with the Cavite provincial government on the proposed international airport.
But up to now, it's a stalemate.
Earlier, the Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group, Inc., a consortium composed of Solar Group’s All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. and the Sy family’s Belle Corp. submitted an unsolicited proposal to build Philippine Sangley International Airport (PSIA) for $12 billion.
The proposed regional airport hub could accommodate about 120 million passengers a year once fully developed.
The proponents will start with the reclamation of about 2,500 hectares of land north of the Sangley peninsula to construct airport infrastructure plus a commercial establishment to complement the project.
The consortium proposed a concession period of 50 years.
The plan also includes the development of airside and landside facilities along with transportation infrastructure to service the passengers and ensure accessibility of PSIA.
Another crucial portion of the PSIA development plan is the rehabilitation of the Danilo Atienza Air Base, which will be later used as a general aviation airport to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals during the project development phase.
Upon inauguration, the Danilo Atienza Air Base area will be transformed into an “aerotropolis” district where service buildings, office towers, hotels, conference centers and other related developments will be established.
The proposed airport will be designed with two parallel independent runways and sufficient airside and terminal capacity to accommodate future demand for domestic, international and transfer traffic, not only for the Philippines but also for Southeast Asia.
The new airport hub is likewise envisioned to compete with other premier Southeast Asia airports such as the ones in Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore.