Recto suggests converting NAIA into next BGC once Bulacan airport is finished

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has raised the possibility of converting the 600-hectare Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) complex into a business district once the new airport being built in Bulacan is finished.

At the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) 2024 Board of Directors induction late Thursday evening, Recto floated the idea of selling the land housing the NAIA complex, which could yield the government about P6 trillion.

“That’s 600 hectares… at a million [pesos] per square meter so it’s P6 trillion,” the Finance chief said.

“Then that becomes something like a new BGC. How many jobs will be created? We will have a new BGC in that area whether we do it now… that’s gonna happen anyway ‘pag natapos ‘yung Bulacan airport [once the Bulacan airport is finished, will we need both of them? Why not convert that into something like BGC,” Recto said.

The chief economic manager of the Marcos administration, however, admitted that his suggestion could not happen immediately.

“I’m not saying we do this next year… maybe at the end of 15 years nandiyan ang kontrata then natapos ang Bulacan [airport]. We have to start thinking about stuff like that,” the Finance chief said.

Recto was referring to the 15-year concession deal bagged by San Miguel-led New NAIA Infra Corporation to operate, maintain, and rehabilitate the Manila airport.

San Miguel is also building the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.

To recall, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista floated the possibility of closing NAIA when the planned airports in Bulacan and Cavite in December 2022.

Bautista, later on, said that NAIA can still co-exist with the new upcoming airports under under a “multi-airport strategy” for the Greater Capital Region (GCR).

As to the possibility of selling the NAIA land, Recto said this cannot happen at a “one time sale.”

“Privatization does not necessarily mean one-time gain,” the Finance chief said, noting that selling the airport complex property can be done in parts.

Meanwhile, the San Miguel-led group is planning to build a new passenger terminal building at the NAIA, with a capacity of 35 million passengers per year and 50 boarding bridges to decongest the airport’s existing terminals.—AOL, GMA Integrated News