Two major infrastructure projects of late have received the clearance from authorities to proceed. They are among the big “Build, Build, Build” projects lined up under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in support of the government's bid to boost the economy.
The $3.5-b subway project in the Makati financial district aims to connect key points in the city and significantly cut the travel time of thousands of workers in the urban center. As proposed, the subway will link the central business district from the corner of Ayala Ave. and Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. to Circuit City, Makati City Hall, University of Makati, Ospital ng Makati, and other new growth areas within the city. Once completed, the subway will serve over 700,000 passengers daily.
The subway rail mode clearly addresses the physical limit of Makati's road network. It will significantly reduce the number of buses, cars, jeepneys and taxicabs plying the narrow streets of Makati, as commuters gravitate toward the convenience of using the subway rail.
The Department of Transportation, meanwhile, is set to award the P735-billion New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan province to San Miguel Corp. in the absence of rival bidders. Construction of the ambitious airport in Bulakan town, Bulacan province could start early next year after the groundbreaking ceremony in the fourth quarter this year.
The alternative airport will decongest air traffic in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which has long exceeded its passenger capacity amid the tourism boom.
The new airport, more importantly, will decongest Metro Manila as airline passengers take a different route, away from the busy thoroughfares of Metro Manila. The project involves the construction, operation and maintenance of an international airport and building an 8.4-kilometer tollway that will connect the New Manila International Airport to North Luzon Expressway in Marilao, Bulacan.
With a design capacity of 100-million passengers annually and four parallel runways, the modern NMIA is a much better alternative than Naia.
Modern infrastructure projects such as the NMIA and the Makati subway rail should receive full government support in terms of fiscal incentives. These modern facilities will reshape the landscape of the metropolis and its outskirts, and eventually modernize the economy.