San Miguel to consider Phivolcs comments on Bulacan airport flooding

Bulacan airport proponent San Miguel Corp. said it will consider the comments of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) about possible flooding at the proposed air gateway.

In a statement released on Friday, San Miguel Vice-Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said the company will use engineering intervention to avoid the risks that come with building an airport in a coastal area.

“We would like to assure all stakeholders, particularly those who expressed concerns or opposition to the project, as well as those who offered inputs and suggestions, that we value your inputs and will seriously take them into consideration,” Mr. Ang said.

“[W]e have actually started implementing sustainable measures to address flooding in Bulacan that has existed for several decades… [T]he public can be assured that San Miguel has studied the project, its feasibility, and all possible risks, and will incorporate these into the final design of the project,” he added.

In a Senate hearing last Wednesday, Phivolcs Director Renato U. Solidum said the P734-billion Bulacan airport project is at risk of flooding and ground shaking because of the site it will stand on. Non-government organizations have also raised concerns about the effects of the project on the environment.

San Miguel said that to address these concerns, it has tapped Groupe ADP (Aeroports de Paris), Meinhardt Group and Jacobs Engineering Group for the construction of the airport. These firms are behind Singapore’s Changi airport, France’s Charles de Gaulle airport, and the United States’ Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport.

The company wants to build an “aerotropolis” on a 2,400-hectare site in Bulacan, where there will be four parallel runways, eight taxiways, and three passenger terminal buildings. — Denise A. Valdez