San Miguel’s P740-B Bulacan Airport project gets Dutch gov’t backing

San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) P740-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan has secured an export credit insurance (ECI) from the Dutch government.

In a statement, SMC described the granting of an ECI by the Dutch government for the Bulacan Airport project’s land development as its “strongest support yet.”

The company said the Dutch government, represented by Atradius Dutch State Business (DSB), extended the ECI to Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., "to cover its EUR 1.5 billion contract for land development works at the airport project site in Bulakan, Bulacan."

In December 2020, SMC awarded Dutch dredging firm Boskalis a $1.73-billion contract to restore land at the project site in Bulakan, Bulacan of “what will be the largest, most modern international gateway in the Philippines.”

SMC said the NMIA project is the largest in Boskalis’ over 100-year history and is also the largest export credit insurance policy granted in the 90-year history of Atradius.

The company said approval comes after over a year of rigorous review of the project’s long-term environmental and social impact mitigation measures to ensure that the multi-billion peso project is done with sustainability in mind and aligned with the country’s climate ambitions. 

“This is a significant milestone not only for San Miguel and the NMIA project, but for the entire country. With this, we are closer to our dream of having a world-class, future-ready, and sustainably-built international gateway, proudly built by Filipinos for the Philippines. This also validates our work with Boskalis to ensure that this project is done right, and will provide long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits to our host communities and Bulacan province,” said SMC president Ramon Ang.

In a statement posted on Boskalis’ international website, its CEO, Peter Berdowski, said: "For more than a year, we have worked intensively with Atradius DSB to ensure that the construction of the new airport will take place in a socially responsible manner."

The airport 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.

The gateway has a design capacity of 100 million passengers a year but can be expanded to 200 million, and is targeted to accommodate 240 aircraft movements per hour. 

It will be connected to the North Luzon Expressway through an 8.4-kilometer tollway to be constructed as part of the project. —VBL, GMA News