The Cavite provincial government said Wednesday it canceled a joint venture agreement with a consortium led by China Communication Construction Co. and MacroAsia Corp. of tycoon Lucio Tan on the proposed $10-billion international airport in Sangley Point, Cavite.
“Due to the various deficiencies of the submission of requirements to conclude the joint venture agreement for the Sangley Point International Airport, the Cavite Provincial Government Special Selection Committee has recommended the non-approval of the redevelopment of the former airbase as presented by the applying parties,” Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla said.
Remulla said he accepted and approved the recommendation of the PPP Selection Committee.
MarcoAsia confirmed in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange its notice of selection award for the Sangley Point Airport issued in February 2020 was canceled by the Cavite provincial government.
Remulla said despite the cancelled negotiations, the Sangley airport project would restart and “hopefully have a successful negotiation with any qualified partner by October 2021.”
“I still believe that a new international airport is important for the country in the long run and it must be stressed that cancellation is not in prejudice of anyone applying again,” he said.
The provincial government of Cavite is the lead proponent and implementing agency of the project which supports the Transportation Department’s multi-airport strategy to decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s main international gateway whose passenger volume was already 40-percent above its design capacity of 31 million passengers yearly.
The Manila International Airport Authority earlier rejected the original proponent status of Megawide-GMR to rehabilitate NAIA for P109 billion.
These developments will boost San Miguel Corp.’s construction of the P734-billion New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan. The Bulacan airport is expected to be completed by 2025.
The airport project, to be built at no cost to the government, is seen to solve the perennial congestion problems at the country’s primary gateway. This airport will initially feature four parallel runways with a provision for two more, a world-class terminal, and an infrastructure network that will include a mass rail system to ensure easy connectivity.
The airport will be capable of handling up to 100 million passengers a year and is seen to generate about 30 million tourism-related jobs and open more than a million direct jobs for host province Bulacan and nearby provinces.