Governor Daniel Fernando appointed Pandi Mayor Enrico Roque as head of the Bulacan Airport Committee to accelerate the socio-economic development of the province as the international airport project will be constructed soon on a 2,500-hectare coastal property in Bulakan town.
The P735-billion project was proposed by San Miguel Corporation and will be constructed by San Miguel Aerocity Inc. which will commence construction before the end of 2020.
During a recent meeting called by the governor with some members of the Bulacan Mayors League, Roque was appointed as head of the newly formed airport committee wherein Fernando is the overall chairperson of the said team.
Fernando said that the committee’s implementing body composed of few members of local chief executives from local municipalities and city such as Pandi, Guiguinto, Bocaue, Bulakan, Obando, Sta Maria, Balagtas and Malolos City wherein they will be handling different committees respectively.
“I created this team because I want to know their (Bulacan mayors) proposals and plans, I need their opinions and suggestions and additional ideas before the project construction begins,” Fernando said.
The Bulacan Airport Committee’s counterpart will be the Provincial Development Council (PDC) and Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO).
Aside of its policies to be created, some functions to be implemented by the said Bulacan airport committee were adopted from the PDC and PPDO’s policies and guidelines.
” Layunin din po nito ay pag-aralan ang mga advantage-dis-advantages ng proyekto para sa kapakanan ng mga Bulakenyo. Maiiwasan din po dito ang magamit ang airport project ng mga taong mapagsamantala ,” Fernando said.
Mayor Roque added that the creation of said team can also prevent and avoid those influential people claiming that they have connections and will help contractors to be part of the project in exchange of asking favor for their own benefit.
Last August, a bill that seeks to establish the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport (Bulacan Ecozone) was approved by the House of Representatives.
House Bill (HB) 7575 was approved that proposes the Bulacan Ecozone to be established adjacent to the proposed New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan, which will be constructed by San Miguel Aerocity Inc.
The Bulacan Ecozone will cover the domestic and international airport, the Airport City to be developed adjacent to the airport and lands adjacent to the Airport City.
The bill also creates the “Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority,” which shall manage and operate the Bulacan Ecozone.
The New Manila International Airport, also known as Bulacan International Airport will help decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and is a part of flagship infrastructure program of the Duterte administration, commonly known as “Build! Build! Build!.”
It was also learned that the new modern airport in Bulacan has a design capacity of 200 million passengers per year, consisting of 4 runways and all aviation related facilities.