Government may have a grander plan in developing the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) in Cavite.
The provincial government of Cavite, proponent of the project, said SPIA may replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
For now, SPIA is planned to replace the recently inaugurated P700-million Sangley Airport Development Project (SADP), originally conceived to help decongest NAIA.
The development of SPIA will eventually allow for the eventual phaseout of operations at the NAIA, allowing the area it occupies to be redeveloped into a new city center district, according to the government of Cavite.
This, however, is a long-term plan that needs the approval of the Department of Transportation.
Construction of SPIA, which involves massive reclamation in the southern part of Manila Bay, is targeted to start by second quarter this year and be partially operational by 2022.
SPIA will break ground on the P208.5-billion phase 1 component of the project right after the sole bidder, China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC) and MacroAsia Corp. signs the notice of award and comply in the requirements hopefully within the first quarter.
The consortium of CCCC and MacroAsia on Friday received the notice of award. It has committed to comply with the financial requirements to proceed with the construction.
The travel ban to China and its special administrative regions due to the coronona virus outbreak has prevented the members of the consortium to meet and sign the documents.
“We (Cavite government) submitted the terms of reference. It’s been awarded. But there are still conditions… that they need to comply with. It’s …a rudimentary financial guarantee they have committed except they (should) meet as a board to sign the documents,” said Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla.
Remulla expressed confidence the consortium will comply with the requirements within the first quarter and break ground on the project by the second quarter.
From the signing of the joint venture development agreement, it will take 12 to 18 mounts for the consortium to complete the detailed engineering design leading to financial closure, CCCC-MacroAsia said.
The first phase of SPIA will include the new Sangley connector road and bridge, which is a six -lane highway with urban mass transit connectivity, directly linking the Kawit interchange of Manila Cavite expressway (Cavitex) to SPIA.
Phase 1 itself will involve the development of an interim first runway that is designed to operate alongside NAIA, with an annual design capacity for 25 million passengers annually.
The second phase of the SPIA project involves the development for a second runway, with an annual design capacity for 75 million passengers. This is further expandable to up to four runways for an ultimate annual capacity of 130 million passengers.
Remulla said the consortium of CCCC and MacroAsia will have to buy the entire SADP and return the government’s investment in the rehabilitation and development of the airport.
SADP is one of the key projects of the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program and was conceived to help decongest NAIA.
The SADP was originally targeted for completion in March 2020. However, when President Duterte made the directive to expedite the airport’s construction on June 12, 2019, everything ran on a much faster pace.
Five months after the President’s directive, the SADP was completed, with its priority facilities now 100 percent operational, according to the Department of Transportation.
