THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said it will give the provincial government of Cavite until the end of the year to finalize its proposal to build an airport in Sangley Point, Cavite.
“Of course I will give them a deadline. I hope to have something before the end of the year,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters recently. He did not say what will happen if the deadline is not met.
Mr. Tugade said despite having an unsolicited proposal from a private company to build a Sangley airport, the DoTr is required to prioritize a government-to-government deal.
Asked if the private proposal will be considered when the Cavite government fails to meet the deadline, he declined to answer other than to say “We’ll see.”
The Cavite government submitted in February a P552.018-billion proposal to develop an airport in the former US naval facility at Sangley Point, Cavite.
The project contains two phases, with the first segment at around P208.487 billion and the second segment around P343.531 billion.
Although the DoTr issued a no-objection clearance in July, it said the proposal still needs to be refined as the draft memorandum of agreement it was presented with has no details on obligations and responsibilities.
Transportation Undersecretary for Planning Ruben S. Reinoso, Jr. earlier said if the Cavite government wants to proceed with its plan, it has to do so independently and with no guarantee, subsidy or equity from the national government.
Going head-to-head with the Cavite government’s plan is a $12-billion unsolicited proposal from Sangley Airport Infrastructure Group, Inc. (SAIG), a consortium formed by Solar Group’s Wilson Y. Tieng and the SM Group’s Henry T. Sy, Sr.
SAIG, led by All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp. and Belle Corp., wants to develop an airport at a 2,500-hectare site in Sangley Point with a 50-year concession period. — Denise A. Valdez

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