Airport experts in the United States, France and Singapore will join and help San Miguel Corporation to construct the P735 billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project to be build in a 2,500 hectares in the town of Bulakan, Bulacan.
This was confirmed by Raoul Eduardo C. Romulo, chief finance officer and treasury head of San Miguel Holdings Corporation, during the Bulacan Investment Forum organized by the Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (BCCI) held recently at the The Pavilion, Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in the City of Malolos.
“SMC has tapped international engineering firms to assists in the said project development and construction,”Romulo said.
These are Groupe ADPi, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs who had been commissioned by the country’s largest conglomerate to design and build the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.
San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang said the three international firms were leaders in their respective fields and had been involved in building world-class airports including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States; Singapore’s Chiangi Airport and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. According to Romulo, NMIA will be the ultimate symbol of a modern and dynamic Philippines which will give rise to a sustainable urban center just outside its gates.
“The town of Bulakan as well as the country’s profile and image as an investment and tourist spot will rise,” Romulo said.
Romulo said that although construction is not yet underway, the experts are also helping the company to ensure that the villages around the NMIA are not flooded. According to the hydrologist study, the topography and geography of the Bulacan and its surrounding towns are subjected to the prevention of flooding.
So with the help of Meinhardt, Jacobs and Groupe ADP, the broadening and widening of the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS), the stream of Malolos and the Tullahan river in Valenzuela will begin in early 2020.
Romulo further emphasized that, “we will not allow our airport to be flooded,” he said. In fact, as part of the project’s flood control component, it will have a 600-hectare water reservoir to absorb excess water and will be NMIA’s water supply and the surrounding aerotropolis.
In this regard, the Department of Transportation (DOTR) Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development Engr. Sheilah G. Napalang confirmed the P735 billion for the NMIA project, it is the largest infrastructure project under President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s administration.
Meanwhile, the business sector has responded positively with the airport project.. According to Gregoria Simbulan, vice president for Central of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), a native of Baliwag, the project is a great opportunity to prepare the work needed for the NMIA’s construction. “We must do our part for the Bulakenyos because in the future Bulacan will no longer be the gateway to the north or the gateway to Metro Manila, but Bulacan will be the gateway to the world.”
On the other hand, officials of the local government, said Guiguinto Mayor Ambrosio ‘Boy’ Cruz Jr., president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) -Bulacan Chapter, began to prepare towns near Bulacan the configuration of their respective infrastructures.
Mayor Cruz is optimistic that most of the thousand-jobs that will generate in this development will benefits 90% of Bulakenyos.