San Miguel Corp pushing for another airport close to Manila
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The Philippines could treble the positive effects of its infrastructure plan as well as boost tourist arrivals, by having more than one international airport, says the head of the San Miguel Corp (SMC).
“Notwithstanding the existing plan to develop Clark as a major international airport, we believe that our proposal to build a world-class inter-national airport closer to the National Capital Region complements the government’s infrastructure master plan,” said SMC president Ramon Ang.
San Miguel has proposed building a privately funded four-runway international airport that would be located only “15 minutes” from central Manila.
The project, he said, would bring in investments of as much as US$10 billion (Bt298 billion) and would require at least 2,000 hectares of land.
“Many cities are known to have more than one or several international airports,” said Ang. “Paris has five: Charles de Gaulle, Orly Airport, Beauvais-Tille, Paris Le-Bourget and Chalons Vatry; London also has five: London Heathrow, London Stansted, London Gatwick, London Luton and the London City Airport.”
Ang added that San Francisco has three international gateways: San Francisco International, Oakland International and the San Jose International Airport, and Washington DC has two.
“Closer to the Philippines, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok have two international airports each,” he said. “Given the government’s thrust to push tourism and the record arrivals
to the Philippines, we see the need for more than one major airport in the near term.”
The San Miguel chief earlier expressed scepticism that Clark could completely replace Naia – or another location on the periphery of Metro Manila – saying the former US air base in Angeles City, Pampanga, was too far from the capital.
For Clark to be a viable alternative international airport, a high-speed rail line would have to be built between Angeles and Manila, said Ang. This rail network would cost as much as $10
billion, he added – roughly the same amount needed to build a new international airport.
