A filipino conglomerate San Miguel is likely to win a contract for a Philippines international airport project worth $14.47 billion. Under the terms of the contract, San Miguel will take charge to build and operate the airport in Bulacan province in the country, media reports said.
Philippines’ new Bulacan International Airport will mark the country’s single largest transportation project to date. The project is in line with filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s ambitious ‘build, build and build’ agenda aimed at building roads, bridges, ports, and the Philippines’s first subway.
Miguel told media reports that “It is our single biggest investment in our country.” The airport will be constructed incurring no costs to the government, and with no guarantees or subsidies, he said.
Last year, the National Economic and Development Authority Board approved the Bulacan International Airport’s concession agreement negotiation report. The airport will serve 100 million passengers annually., while the existing main gateway now has a capacity to handle only 31 million passengers.
Forbes reported that Chief Economist Karl Chua at Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) in an interview said the Filipino government is planning to develop 75 flagship projects. These projects will comprise six airports, nine railways, three bus rapid transits, 32 roads and bridges, and four seaports. In turn, these projects are expected to lower the cost of production.
According to media reports, the country’s transportation department is expecting San Miguel to begin work on the airport by the end of the year. The airport will have four runways, required aviation facilities and an airport toll road stretching eight kilometers.
The Philippines is expected to broaden its infrastructure efforts under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. The government is also planning to develop four energy facilities to ensure a steady supply of power in the country at low rates. There will also be three development programmes in an effort to devise sustainable solutions that will meet the needs of the country’s urban population.