Sy, Tieng pitch to rehabilitate Sangley airport as 3rd Naia runway

A venture between Solar Group’s Wilson Tieng and SM Group’s Henry Sy Sr. is urging the government to consider its proposal to use the Danilo Atienza airport in Sangley, Cavite as a “third runway” to support Manila’s main air gateway.

In a statement over the weekend, All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. (ARRC) said its proposal was to operate and rehabilitate the Sangley Airport to handle private jets and “smaller” low-cost carriers in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Naia, which has two intersecting runways, could benefit if a portion of the traffic was diverted to Sangley, the firm said.

“We have submitted an unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate Danilo Atienza and finish it in one year. If the government accepts this, we can absorb all general aviation from Naia and some low-cost carriers so Naia can handle more commercial flights,” Edmundo Lim, vice chair of ARRC, said in a statement.

Lim said the offer comes with no strings attached and no subsidies. Moreover, it would be fully funded by the private sector.

These were the requirements earlier laid out by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade when it came to airport proposals from the private sector.

“We have long been ready with our foreign partners to do both. Hopefully, the government decides soon enough even for the Danilo Atienza project only because it will make Naia more efficient,” Lim said.

Because of existing limitations, Naia’s runway could be better utilized by larger, higher-capacity aircraft, he added.

“Small private jets, sometimes with only one passenger or just the pilot, and those that transport seafood, for instance, use the same space and time to land and take off in the Naia, which is one reason for delays in commercial flights that carry hundreds,” he said.

Lim also supported a dual-airport plan for the greater Manila area even as the Department of Transportation earlier signaled it did not want to be limited by just two airports, even opening the door to a “multi-airport system.”

“We need two international airports. The millions of passengers from Pasay, Parañaque, Cavite and Batangas, for example, should not travel North via the streets of Metro Manila to fly,” Lim said.

“The same goes for those from Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan who do not have to travel to Manila,” he added, referring to Clark International Airport, located in Pampanga province north of Metro Manila.

This would also cut road congestion in Metro Manila, he said.