MacroAsia and Chinese partner bag Sangley airport project
THE provincial government of Cavite has awarded the P208.5-billion contract to develop Sangley airport to the listed holding firm of businessman Lucio C. Tan and its Chinese partner.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, Mr. Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. said it had received on Feb. 14 the notice of selection and award for the Sangley Point International Airport project.
MacroAsia has teamed up with China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. for the contract covering the development and implementation of the first phase of the airport.
It said the Public-Private Partnership Center’s selection committee acted favorably on Feb. 11, 2020 upon the recommendation of the Cavite provincial government, which chose the Tan-led consortium as its joint venture partner for the project’s first phase.
It said the initial phase will have a project cost of approximately P208.5 billion.
MacroAsia said it would take 12 to 18 months, from the signing of the joint venture development agreement, for the tandem to finish the detailed engineering design.
Before it was repurposed for general aviation, Sangley was formerly known as Danilo Atienza Air Base. Its location on Sangley Point, a narrow peninsula which served as a naval facility during the Spanish occupation, is surrounded by navigable waters that require extensive reclamation.
Cavite’s government and its joint venture partner plan to develop a bigger airport out of the existing small airport.
The proposed airport will have four runways — or double the two runways of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport — and a terminal that can handle 100 million passengers annually.
Last month, Cavite Governor Juanito Victor C. Remulla said the local government was looking at Feb. 15 to start the project and that it was scheduled to make an announcement.
He said the airport would be operational by 2023, and the fourth runway to be opened after six years.
On Friday, shares in MacroAsia jumped P1.15 or 11.56% to close at P11.10 each. — Arjay L. Balinbin
