Sangley airport development still uncertain

The Transportation department said the development of Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) remains uncertain as the joint-venture company still has to secure other approvals before the project moves forward.

This comes after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) announced on Monday that it has approved the proposed joint venture between the Cavite provincial government and the SPIA consortium that includes Virata-led Cavitex Holdings, Inc. and Yuchengcos’ House of Investments, Inc.

“Generally speaking, this project is still at the early stage,” Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Roberto C.O. Lim said in a phone interview on Monday.

Following the PCC approval, the consortium must submit their proposal which includes the detailed engineering design, Mr. Lim said.

“The Department is waiting for the proponents to submit the plans. We are still waiting for their submission so that the DoTr (Department of Transportation) can look at it and evaluate it,” he said.

Mr. Lim said the consortium also needs to secure an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to start the project.

“The ECC compliance is another thing that they have to secure because it is in the water and that is an issue. I think the Philippine Reclamation Authority approval is another agency that needs to give its clearance,” he said.

For now, Mr. Lim said it is hard to say if the group can accomplish all the necessary approvals within the year.

Separately, the Transportation department and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said it will expedite its evaluation of the project as soon as possible.

“The joint venture needs to submit to DoTr and CAAP the relevant project documents indicating the scope, design, financials, technical and aeronautical studies, timelines, plans, for evaluation. DoTr and CAAP shall expedite the evaluation of the documents as soon as they are received from the joint venture,” DoTr said in a statement.

In July, House of Investments told the stock exchange that the PCC approved the joint-venture company for the SPIA project.

On Monday, the PCC issued a statement, saying it concluded that the transaction, involving a public-private partnership (PPP) project through a joint-venture agreement, will not result in a “substantial lessening, restriction, or prevention of competition in the relevant market.”

PCC said that its decision was based on three main points — the competition in the construction services market, the link between the companies as major market players, and the potential possibility of overlapping business.

“The Commission found that competition between construction companies was robust due to the presence of numerous qualified contractors in the construction services market,” PCC said.

According to the PCC, it found that the relationship between House of Investments and EEI Corp., where it owns a majority stake, will not block other construction companies from finding customers.

“The Commission found that the companies working together on this project do not have overlapping businesses, and that the presence of numerous companies in the market helps in sustaining competition,” PCC said.

NOT FEASIBLE?

Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said the Sangley Point Airport in not expected to be feasible with the current operations of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport and the development of the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) in Bulacan.

“For the Philippines, Sangley Airport is one too many airports. Airports are agglomerative, contrary to the adage of the more the merrier. Sangley is unlikely to be viable without two conditions: closure of NAIA and an expressway link to Manila,” Mr. Santiago said in a Viber message on Monday.

For Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on PPP at the technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc., the Sangley Point Airport remains important and still has the potential to be economically sound.

“We still need to build the road connection to Metro Manila. It may have its advantages; many world capitals have multiple airports. The determinant conditions are economic viability which will be dependent on passenger volume,” Mr. Villarete said in a Viber message.

DoTr’s Mr. Lim said that the current plan right now is to enhance the existing facilities as a general aviation airport.

“Sangley is now operating on a limited basis. There are limited operations through general aviation aircraft,” he said.

Mr. Lim also added that the next important infrastructure that needs to be built is a dedicated road to Cavite City.

“So that airlines will be attracted to relocate their operations to Sangley, because the customers would always be sensitive about that. Right now, that is a missing piece,” Mr. Lim said, although he declined to further give details about this plan.

The Cavite Provincial government awarded the USD 11-billion project to the consortium in 2022.

The consortium is targeting to develop the airport into an international hub that will meet future demand.

The National Government currently operates Cavite City’s Sangley Point as a supplemental runway to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In February 2023, the SPIA consortium and the Cavite provincial government signed the joint-venture and development agreement for the project’s implementation.

House of Investments, along with other Philippine members of the consortium, including MacroAsia Corp., signed the development agreement with the Cavite provincial government.

Samsung C&T Corp., Munich Airport International GmbH, and Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd. are also involved in the project. – Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter