By Madelaine B. Miraflor
San Miguel Corporation (SMC), led by its President Ramon S. Ang, is now in full force and on track with the construction of two flagship projects in Bulacan, namely the Bulacan International Airport and Bulacan Bulk Water Supply.
THUMBS UP FOR SMC MEGA PROJECTS – Former President Fidel C. Ramos (right) and San Miguel Corporation President & CEO Ramon S. Ang (left) do the thumbs up sign during a courtesy call and meeting with FVR at his RPDEV office in Makati. Mr. Ang briefed FVR about the various mega projects he has set to venture in the next 5 to 10 years including the Bulacan International Airport, the extension of TPLEX initially to Luna, La Union and all the way to Laoag, among others. Others in the photo are Gen. Rey Velasco, Gen. Wilson Victorio, Engr. Fred Reyes, sportsman Freddie Jalasco and FVR family biographer Melandrew T. Velasco.
In his briefing with former President Fidel V. Ramos, Ang unveiled his grandiose plan on the Bulacan International Airport, an unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) proposal from San Miguel Holdings to construct, operate, and maintain the airport on a 2,500-hectare land in Bulakan, Bulacan.
“The project, estimated at $15 billion, will be undertaken over a period of five to seven years to full completion,” said Ang, adding that the Bulacan airport will have four parallel runways (expandable to six) and will be equipped with modern and world-class facilities.
According to Ang, the airport is expected to accommodate 100 million passengers a year — a huge improvement compared to Ninoy Aquino International Airport's (NAIA) current capacity of just about 31 million passengers annually.
Meanwhile, Ang was also lauded for speedy completion of the Bulacan Bulk Water, which started commercial operations under Stage 1.
The project consists of three stages. Stage 1 covers six water districts consisting of San Jose del Monte, Marilao, Meycauayan, Bocaue, Obando and Balagtas while Stage 2 covers seven water districts consisting of Guiguinto, Calumpit, Bulakan, Plaridel, Sta. Maria, Paombong and Malolos.
Meanwhile, the construction of Stage 3, which covers the remaining 11 municipalities of Baliuag, Plaridel, Pandi, Hagonoy, San Rafael, San Miguel, Norzagaray, Angat, Doña Remedios Trinidad, San Ildefonso, and Bustos, has not yet started.
The construction is set to start in the year 2022, or even earlier.
“The Bulacan Bulacan Bulk Water is just one of the many projects that SMC has in store under the Duterte administration,” said Ang.
Ang said the water project is aimed at providing millions of residents from 24 localities in Bulacan ready access to fresh, potable surface water while balancing the competing needs of a growing population, industry, agriculture, and the environment in the province.