Jica pushes Sangley as new airport site

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has formally recommended the former US naval base in Sangley Point, Cavite, as the site for a $10-billion air gateway that will serve Metro Manila by 2025, according to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

DOTC said Monday in a statement that Jica made its formal presentation last Friday and the Japanese agency would proceed with the feasibility study for the facility, which aims to replace or provide an alternative to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s busiest gateway that has been suffering from worsening congestion.

“The DOTC, meanwhile, will still have to present the long-term gateway options to   President [Aquino] for approval, including the final location of Manila’s new gateway, as well as the fate of Naia once a new airport is built,” the statement showed.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said in a previous interview that the Sangley proposal would require about 2,000 hectares of reclaimed land and would support as many as four runways.

The existing Naia only has one 3.4-kilometer primary runway but worsening air congestion has prompted the government to study the feasibility of building a second runway, with a length of 2.3 kilometers.

The Sangley proposal is separate from that of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., a part owner of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, which suggested an alternative $10-billion airport project on land to be reclaimed from Manila Bay.

Abaya said all proposals would be evaluated once studies are finalized.

The development comes as the DOTC undertakes major upgrading projects for Naia, particularly Terminals 1 and 3.

The Terminal 1 Rehabilitation project, which entails structural retrofitting, architectural works, and improvement of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection facilities, is scheduled for completion in January 2015.

Meanwhile, completion works for Terminal 3 is set to be finished in July, to pave the way for the transfer of Singapore Airlines, Delta, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and KLM from Terminal 1 in August 2014.

“This will also help decongest Terminal 1 and allow more flexibility in the ongoing rehabilitation efforts,” the DOTC said.

The DOTC has also been taking steps to increase passenger convenience, the same statement showed.

Following the Manila International Airport Authority’s  move to incorporate terminal fees in passengers’ airline tickets upon purchase for less queuing time at Naia, Abaya has instructed other airport authorities to do the same.

“We want to improve passenger convenience at all our airports, not just through infrastructure and facilities upgrades, but also through more efficient business processes. I have asked the other airport authorities to follow Miaa’s lead,” said Abaya in the statement.

These bodies are the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), Clark International Airport Corp. (Ciac), as well as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap), which operates the country’s airports besides Naia, Cebu and Clark.