JUST recently, San Miguel Corporation has submitted its proposal of building an airport in Bulacan to the Department of Transportation for evaluation. This after the said corporation did away with its plan of developing and operating the country’s current main airline hub, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
With this, Sec. Carlos Dominguez III of the Department of Finance (DOF) expressed its openness to the proposal while saying that big cities around the globe are being served by a number of airports. It seems that he is welcoming the idea of having an airport in Bulacan.
Meanwhile Socio-Economic Planning Secretary and head of the National Economic and Development Authority head Ernesto M. Pernia stated that the DOF is currently studying the fiscal and financial implications of the project.
Since the same is a major investment, the same should be carefully studied including its income and economic effect in the local and national economy as it was noted that the proposal is not merely for the construction and development of an airport but also for a metropolis revolving around an airport or an “aerotropolis”.
According to the SMC, it would infuse around P700 billion to the ambitious proposal for the 1,168 hectares for the airport and a 2,500 hectares for the city complex that would be built along the Manila Bay and the province of Bulacan.
Under the proposal, the airport can accommodate three times the capacity of the NAIA that would be under a 50-year concession under a built-operate-transfer scheme. It shall have a link to the North Luzon Expressway in the city of Marilao of the said province.
The proposed project seems to be very ambitious. The construction of the airport would start from scratch and this include right-of-way works, road clearing, infrastructure development and the relocation of residents and informal settlers to give way for the proposed city complex.
The proposed airport’s runways alone can disturb several communities as it will be transformed into very long airplane landing sites. Under the proposal, the airport shall six parallel runways.
The NEDA should likewise consider the volume of vehicles the airport can attract as traffic congestion affects the economy in one way or the other. In addition, present establishments in the area would have to be relocated to give way to the proposal in case the government would approve the said project.
Instead of constructing and developing a new airport in Bulacan, the government, as well as the SMC, can consider developing instead the Clark International Airport which is already there and operational.
All that Clark needs is its further expansion to accommodate and lure more passengers particularly from Northern and Central Luzon regions. It does not even need to construct its runway since the same can accommodate far bigger airplanes as compared to the NAIA.
Vehicular traffic at Clark is never a problem since the Clark Freeport has far larger area as compared to the area in Bulacan where a new airport is being proposed. In addition, Clark is more strategic in location as it can also cater people from Bulacan and northern Metro Manila.
If the SMC plans to construct and develop an airport in Bulacan, why not instead pour in its finances for the furtherance of development at Clark? In this way, they can even save extra budget as compared with constructing and developing a new one.
The NEDA should consider Clark in the proposal of the SMC.
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