P4-B Sangley runway extension eyed

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The Department of Transportation and Communications will seek Malacañang’s approval for a crucial airport strategy before the end of the year, given that the country’s primary gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, is set to reach full capacity by 2015, a decade before a potential replacement airport in Sangley Point, Cavite, is finished.

Those projections, contained in an infrastructure roadmap for Metro Manila prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), would serve as the main basis for the presentation, DOTC spokesperson Michael Sagcal said in an interview Monday. He said the presentation could be done in the latter part of 2014.

The department is in the process of establishing that Sangley is the final site for the new airport and Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said Monday that a feasibility study was being undertaken.

“We still need presidential approval for that,” he added in a text message.

The new Sangley airport, estimated by Jica to have a development cost of P435.9 billion, is deemed crucial in meeting the capital region’s passenger demand, seen to more than triple to 101.4 million in 2040 from 31.9 million in 2012, according to the roadmap.

The Sangley International Airport would be able to handle about 55 million passengers a year when it opens in 2025, which together with the existing Naia would be enough to meet the area’s estimated demand of 59.1 million, Jica said. The Sangley facility could eventually be expanded to handle 130 million passengers annually by 2050, it said.

As noted, the crucial decisions need to come within 2014, given that the existing Naia is nearing its estimated maximum capacity of 35 million passengers a year, seen to be breached in 2015.

“As a rule of thumb, Naia would totally be capacity-saturated in 2015 and not be able to cater for the increasing passenger demand anymore,” it said.

This means a shorter-term fix is also required. Jica said one solution was to extend the existing Sangley runway at an estimated cost of P4 billion, which would allow the facility to act as a supplemental “third runway” to the existing Naia.

This project, assuming approvals are obtained this year, could be open by 2017, Jica said.

The roadmap also contained suggestions for supplemental infrastructure like expressways and bridges and possible railway expansion projects that would link the planned international airport in Sangley.