Ramon Ang says SMHC is ready to finalize terms for Bulacan airport

San Miguel Holdings Corporation (SMHC) is now ready to finalize the concession terms for its proposed Bulacan airport with the government.

The concession terms for the proposed P735-billion Bulacan International Airport are under review by proponent SMHC, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Friday.

The revised concession agreement along with a risk allocation matrix, comments from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Department of Finance are now under consideration of San Miguel Holdings, the DOTr said in a separate statement.

“After which, the DOTr will commence negotiations with SMHC to finalize the draft Concession Agreement and submit the same to NEDA ICC (Investment Coordination Committee), and finally begin the Swiss Challenge process,” DOTr said.

On the part of SMHC, Ramon Ang said the company is ready to discuss and finalize the terms for the Bulacan airport project. Ang is the president and COO of San Miguel Corp., the parent of SMHC.

“If DOTr agrees to talk, we are ready,” Ang told GMA News Online.

In a separate statement, SMC said it received the consolidated comments of the DOF and NEDA on the draft concession agreement on August 22—after “more than three months of waiting.”

The new gateway is called “the the New Manila International Airport (NMIA),” according to the company.

“SMC is looking forward to completing the process, and finalizing the agreement with DOTr at the soonest time possible,” it said.

This development “brings the company another step closer to making the NMIA—the largest, most ambitious and most modern airport infrastructure project in the country—a reality.”

Interests in alternative gateways such as the Bulacan airport were renewed after a Xiamen Air aircraft skidded off Runway 06/24 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on August 16.

Dozens of flights were canceled, diverted, or delayed, and tens of thousands of displaced passengers were stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) when its main runway was closed more around 36 hours.

The Bulacan airport project, an unsolicited proposal from SMC’s infrastructure unit, was approved by NEDA Board —chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte— on April 26 subject to resolution of pending issues, including the joint and several liability agreements by SMHC and its parent company.

Ang earlier said that SMC intends to finance the project using its own resources.

It involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of a 2,500-hectare airport in Bulakan, Bulacan. The development will also include a passenger terminal building with airside and landside facilities, and an airport toll road.

The DOTr said Friday it is pushing for the development of other gateways to complement the NAIA and Clark International Airport, such as the Bulacan and Sangley airports.

The DOTr said it welcomes the proposal of the Provincial Government of Cavite to develop the Sangley Airport. “The approval process will be defined after the Cavite local government unit has determined the legal framework for its implementation.”  —VDS, GMA News