MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is not objecting on the proposal of the Cavite provincial government to develop Sangley Airport as an alternative to and to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
This as DOTr asked the Cavite government to revise its draft memorandum of agreement (MOA) to address various concerns such as its financing and technical capability to implement the project.
“We are not rejecting the proposal of the Provincial Government of Cavite to develop the Sangley Airport…We are just asking the Cavite Government to refine the MOA (memorandum of agreement), so as to reflect all the necessary details, such as the project’s funding source, and proof of the proponent’s technical capability to handle and implement the project. If such details are clarified, the draft MOA may be resubmitted for review and evaluation,” DOTr communications director Goddes Hope Libiran said in a statement Monday.
The DOTr issued the statement after reports circulated that its legal department has issued a memorandum which recommended that the agency should not sign an agreement with the Cavite government on the proposed development of the airport.
The memorandum was signed by Undersecretary for legal affairs and procurement Reinier Paul Yebra, assistant secretary for legal affairs Mark Steven Pastor, and chief of the DOTr legal service Giovanni Lopez in response to the request of Undersecretary for planning and project development Ruben Reinoso Jr. for a legal opinion of the proposed MOA for the project.
They cited that the project proponent lack the technical capability to develop an international airport and has not identified the source for its financing.
Under its proposal, the Cavite provincial government will reclaim around 1,500 hectares of land to construct an airport terminal which can accommodate 75 million passengers annually in Sangley that will be implemented through a government to government mode.
The DOTr earlier said it has approved the proposal on the Sangley Airport and the Cavite government must secure an endorsement from the Philippine Reclamation Authority for reclamation works and an approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has granted the original proponent status to the NAIA Consortium to rehabilitate and upgrade the international airport.
The consortium consists of seven companies –Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc.; AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global Group, Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp.; JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
The proposal will now be endorsed to the National Economic Development Authority for its approval. If approved, this will undergo Swiss Challenge wherein other companies may submit their bid offers to match what is being offered by the original proponent.
Currently, the four terminals at the NAIA can only accommodate 31 million passengers based on its design capacity yet at least 42 million passengers actually use their terminals according to the MIAA. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
