MacroAsia eyes partners for Cavite airport project

Taipan Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. may tap partners as it considers making a bid for the Sangley Point International Airport—a Cavite government project that aims to serve as an alternative to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

MacroAsia president and chief operating officer Joseph Chua told reporters last week that a project of this scale would require partners. He declined to name any group as talks were confidential.

“It’s a big project. We can’t do it alone,” Chua said.

The provincial government of Cavite is seeking joint-venture partners to transform the Danilo Atienza Air Base in Sangley Point into a $10-billion international gateway.

Apart from MacroAsia, six other groups acquired bid documents. These were state-owned China Communications Construction Co., Manuel V. Pangilianan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Manuel Villar’s Prime Asset Ventures and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. led by businessman Jefferson Cheng.

The two other entities were Langham Properties Inc. and Mosveldtt Law Offices.

To allow better participation, the Cavite government extended the deadline for proposals by three weeks to Dec. 17 this year. Groundbreaking for the first phase is scheduled by January next year.

Tan’s group is also part of the Naia Consortium that had proposed to upgrade and operate Naia over a period of 15 years. That project was approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) last Friday.

Chua said there would be no conflict with their interest in Naia, located at a straight line distance of 11 kilometers from the Sangley airport project.
“In the Philippines, we don’t have enough landing slots, airports,” he said. “You have 106 million people and you don’t have enough infrastructure.

There is no fear of excess capacity.”

Upon completion, the Sangley Point International Airport can accommodate 100 million passengers—three times Naia’s current design capacity.
The first phase, which will give the airport a capacity of 25 million passengers a year, could be completed as early as 2022.

The current Sangley Airport is being readied by the Department of Transportation to handle general aviation and turboprop operations. The airport now has a 2,400-meter runway, a terminal for 160 passengers and an apron that can accommodate up to five turboprop planes.

The Sangley Point International Airport is part of the DOTr’s so-called multi-airport strategy to address congestion in Manila and nearby provinces.
Other gateways in the pipeline include San Miguel Corp.’s New Manila International Airport in Bulacan province and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga province. INQ