(Eagle News)–Construction work for the Bulacan airport will begin before the end of the year, the Department of Transportation announced.
According to the DOTr, this was after it concluded the Swiss Challenge for the unsolicited proposal of San Miguel Holdings Corporation on Wednesday, July 31 for the construction, operation and maintenance of the airport, which is expected to be operational within four to six years from the start of construction.
The DOTr said SMHC’s proposal was not challenged, which means the Notice of Award to the corporation will be issued immediately after a recommendation from the Technical Working Group is made within three days.
It will, the DOTr said, be submitted by the Bids and Awards Committee to the DOTr Aviation and Airports Sector within five days.
“On the notice of award, there are some conditions that should be complied with. These include post performance security, proof of commitment, among others as stated in the law. They (SMHC) have 20 days to do so,” Transportation Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Project Implementation Giovanni Lopez said.
According to Lopez, “once the Notice to Proceed is issued between August and the first week of September,” the SMHC shall take charge of the airport, which Transportation Secretary Art Tugade said was crucial to easing congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
He said along with the expansion of Clark Airport and the construction of additional facilities at Sangley Airport, the Bulacan airport is “part of the ‘baskets of solutions’ to bring further connectivity to the Filipino people.”
Transportation Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development Ruben Reinoso Jr. added the airport was part of a larger regional development plan for Central Luzon, as it is expected to help boost economic development in Region III, together with “other big-ticket infrastructure projects such as the Clark Airport expansion, North-South Commuter Railway, MRT-7 and the Subic-Clark Cargo Railway.”
The DOTr said the airport will have a design capacity of 100 million passengers per year but can be expanded to 200 million.
The agency said the plan was to have four parallel runways, and a target of 240 aircraft movements per hour.
The project, the DOTr said, also includes the construction of an 8.4-kilometer tollway that will connect the airport to the North Luzon Expressway in Marilao, Bulacan.
