Bulacan airport designed to accommodate 100M-200M passengers a year —DOTr

The proposed New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan is designed to accommodate up to 200 million passengers per year, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday.

“With four parallel runways planned, it targets 240 aircraft movements per hour,” the department said, noting the NMIA‘s capacities could definitely address the passenger and air traffic congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA),

The Bulacan airport project has a design capacity of 100 million passengers per year, and may be expanded to 200 million.

“The project will also include the construction of an 8.4-kilometer tollway connecting the airport to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Marilao, Bulacan.”

Original proponent San Miguel Corp. emerged as winner at the conclusion of the Swiss challenge in the absence of challengers for the unsolicited proposal to build and operate the Bulacan airport. 

There has been renewed interest in building airports outside of Metro Manila, as NAIA—the country’s premier gateway—has reached overcapacity. 

The four NAIA terminals were designed to accommodate 31 million passengers a year, but currently serve at least 42 million passengers.

“This new international airport is important in helping ease the congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Together with the expansion of Clark Airport and the construction of additional facilities at Sangley Airport, Bulacan Airport is part of the ‘basket of solutions’ to bring further connectivity to the Filipino people,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.

For his part, Transportation Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development Ruben Reinoso Jr. noted that the Bulacan Airport is part of a larger regional development plan for Central Luzon.

“Along with other big-ticket infrastructure projects such as the Clark Airport expansion, North-South Commuter Railway, MRT-7 and the Subic-Clark Cargo Railway, the Bulacan Airport will help boost economic development in Region III,” Reinoso said.

The new international gateway is expected to be operational in four to six years from the start of construction.

An unsolicited proposal from San Miguel’s infrastructure unit, the Bulacan airport was approved by NEDA Board—chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte—on April 26 subject to the resolution of pending issues, including the joint and several liability agreements by San Miguel Holdings and parent San Miguel Corp.

The project involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of a 2,500-hectare airport in Bulakan, Bulacan. The development includes a passenger terminal building with airside and landside facilities, an airport toll road, and four runways.

“With this project, we will generate a lot of jobs and boost not just the local economies of Bulacan but also of neighboring provinces,” San Miguel president and COO Ramon Ang said in a separate statement.

“As part of a larger infrastructure ecosystem that consists of existing and future expressways and mass rail systems, it will be easily accessible from north and south Luzon and will help in significantly decongesting Metro Manila,” Ang said. —VDS, GMA News