San Miguel Corp. said Thursday the foreign contractor for land development works at the P740-billion New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan province secured export credit insurance from the Dutch government.
An ECI policy insures a business against the risk of non-payment by a foreign buyer.
The Dutch government, represented by Atradius Dutch State Business, extended the ECI to Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. to cover the 1.5-billion-euro contract for land development works at the airport project site in Bulakan, Bulacan province.
San Miguel said the approval came after more than a year of rigorous review of the project’s long-term environmental and social impact mitigation measures to ensure that the multi-billion project is done with sustainability in mind and aligned with the country’s climate ambitions.
The NMIA project is the largest in Boskalis’ over 100-year history and is also the largest export credit agency insurance policy granted in the 90-year history of Atradius.
SMC president and chief executive Ramon Ang thanked the Dutch government for its support to NMIA, a project seen to catalyze sustainable economic growth for the Philippines, especially post-pandemic. It is seen to deliver more than a million jobs.
“This is a significant milestone not only for San Miguel and the NMIA project, but for the entire country. With this, we are closer to our dream of having a world-class, future-ready and sustainably-built international gateway, proudly built by Filipinos for the Philippines,” said Ang.
“This also validates our work with Boskalis to ensure that this project is done right, and will provide long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits to our host communities and Bulacan province,” he said.
As part of the ECI process, a large group of experts from San Miguel, together with Boskalis and four renowned consultancy firms conducted an extensive environmental and social impact assessment in accordance with the highest international standards.
The process also included the conduct of impact analyses and compensation packages for adverse effects of the project.
“This shows that the airport project and our environmental and social mitigation plans are not only sound, but robust and strong, given they can pass not only international standards but the exacting requirements of the Dutch government. It is another testament to the ability of Filipinos to be world-class,” Ang said.
“We will continue to work with Atradius, the banks, experts, national and local government and all stakeholders to ensure we will build this project in a sustainable manner and in compliance with the highest international environment and social standards,” Ang said.
The airport project will feature four parallel runways, a world-class terminal and a modern and interlinked infrastructure network that includes expressways and railways.