Another Asian airport has just been closed down, the two-runway Kansai International Airport of Osaka, disrupting at least 600 flights and stranding thousands of passengers.
Per Wikipedia, Osaka area has at least five airports—1) Kansai whose connecting bridge to the mainland was damaged Sept. 5, 2018 by an ocean tanker swept away by Typhoon “Jebi” (Japan’s strongest in 25 years); 2) the old Osaka International; 3) Chubu Centrair in Nagoya opened in 2005; 4) Kobe, less than 25 kms from Osaka and opened in 2006; and 5) Tokushima Airport in Shikoku whose runway was extended in 2007.
In 2016, Kansai, the disabled airport, handled 25-million passengers. Osaka has five airports because Japan wanted to be the Asian hub of regional and international aviation, competing with Hong Kong and Seoul.
In Manila, the one-runway Ninoy Aquino International Airport was disabled for two days, Aug. 16 and 17, 2018 by the crash-landing of XiamenAir flight MF 8667, disrupting at least 600 flights and 500,000 passengers. Damage to the economy after two days: P5 billion. Penalty to XiamenAir: P31 million.
The conclusion from these two accidents—Kansai’s was by nature, and Manila’s by man: A major city can never have a surplus of airports.
Civil aviation is booming. There are four billion, yes billion, air passengers. They will double to eight billion in 20 years. More than half of the increase of four billion will come from Asia. Manila is at the center of Asia.
You can imagine how many of those billions of passengers Manila could capture if it had the airports to welcome and service them.
Ramon S. Ang sees the trend. Five years ago, he proposed a $15-billion brand new airport with four runways, initially, to service up to 100-million passengers a year, six years after completion, in Bulacan, 27 kilometers north of the present Naia.
After relentlessly nagging the administrations of Presidents Noynoy Aquino and Rodrigo Duterte, San Miguel Corp. obtained all the required government regulatory approvals, five in all, including approval by the super body National Economic and Development Authority and the Office of the President. You cannot go any higher than that, because above them is God.
Still, SMC still has yet to be told to proceed with building the airport. Why?
Blame government technocrats and government bureaucrats.
The government has added four conditions that could render SMC’s airport project unviable and unprofitable.
On Aug. 22, 2018, the Department of Finance submitted four conditions on the SMC Airport Project. These are (per Jarius Bondoc’s recent column):
(1) Waiver of payment in case government fails on commitments. It is standard for government justly to recompense the contractor for broken promises, like clearances and permits. So long as obligations are legal, government must comply or else pay damages. It is natural in all deals. Yet, SMHC (San Miguel Holdings Corp.) is being asked to drop its right.
2) Waiver of recompense in case of change of laws or policy. Similarly, contractors are entitled to recompense in case new game rules are set that drastically alter the project viability. Yet SMHC is being made to forgo its options.
(3) No rights-of-way. Government usually expropriates private land for public use, so long as justly compensated. In this case, SMHC is willing to pay for land that would be needed for access roads to the planned airport. Yet, the DoF does not want to expropriate any land for use in the airport works.
(4) Drop any plans at the MIA while the Bulacan facility is being built. Part of SMHC’s proposal is to improve MIA aviation equipment, runways, and terminals preparatory to complementing by the Bulacan gateway. But the DoF wants to give such operations instead to the seven taipans seeking to rehabilitate Naia.
At the Senate Committee on Public Services hearing on Aug. 29, 2018, Sen. Ralph Recto questioned Department of Transportation officials on the delay in the P750-billion SMC airport. Chairman Senator Grace Poe presided.
“If there is no government guarantee, government doesn’t spend anything. It’s a private sector risk. It could appear [San Miguel] is the most modern proposal or the biggest airport; 100-million passengers, 1,300 hectares, on a city of 2,500 hectares as well. Yet, there is nothing definite on it. There is really no final approval if there are discussions pending. Is there a notice to proceed?” Senator Recto asked Department of Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso.
Reinoso’s answer: None, sir.
Here is the rest of the Q/A with Reinoso:
Recto: So what questions still need to be discussed, when there is no government guarantee involved?
Reinoso: There are certain provisions in the draft concession agreement that need to be clarified. Such as the obligations of the government on the acquisition of the right of way.
Recto: So there is a government guarantee on the right of way?
Reinoso: None. That is something that we really need to clarify with the proponent.
Recto: Kung dumaan ng Neda ’yan at may Neda board approval ’yan, dapat tapos na lahat ’yun. Napag-usapan na lahat ‘yun.
Reinoso: Ganoon din ho sana ang ine-expect ng DOTr but Neda and DoF still submitted some comments so we’d need to address them.
Recto: So this means there is no final approval yet?
Reinoso: Yes. There is a conditional approval but subject to the discussions with the proponent…
My Philstar colleague Boo Chanco wonders if the San Miguel airport is doomed.
By the way, along with his Bulacan airport proposal five years ago, Ramon Ang also offered to rehabilitate the NAIA airport while the new airport is under construction—for free.
Instead, the DOTr told SMC to lay its hands off Naia. This year, an obscure government agency gave a first-proponent status to a group of seven tycoons that offered only this year to rehabilitate Naia for a least P100-billion. If SMC offers it for free, it’s no go. Another group of tycoons makes the same offer, after five years, for P100 billion cost, it’s a go. Why?
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