By Ashley Erika O. Jose, A reporter
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT means the development of Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) remains uncertain as the joint venture still needs to obtain other approvals before the project can proceed.
This comes after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) announced on Monday that it has approved the proposed merger between the Cavite provincial government and the SPIA consortium that includes Cavitex Holdings, Inc. led by Virata and Yuchengcos’ House of Investments, Inc.
“In general, this project is in the initial stage,” said Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Roberto CO Lim. in a phone interview Monday.
After the PCC’s approval, the consortium must submit its proposal that includes a detailed engineering design, said Mr Lim.
“The Department is waiting for those who will apply to submit plans. We are still waiting for their presentations so that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) will look at it and evaluate it,” he said.
Mr. Lim said the consortium also needs to obtain an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to start work.
“Compliance with the ECC is another thing they must ensure because it is in the water and that is the problem. I think the approval of the Philippine Reclamation Authority is another agency that should give its approval,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lim said it is difficult to say whether the group can achieve all the necessary approvals within the year.
Separately, the Department of Transportation and the 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 the DoTr and the CAAP the relevant project documents showing the scope, design, finance, technical and aviation studies, timelines, plans, for evaluation. DoTr and CAAP will expedite the examination of documents as soon as they are received from the joint venture,” said a DoTr statement.
In July, the House of Investments told the stock exchange that the PCC approved a joint venture for the SPIA project.
On Monday, the PCC issued a statement, saying it concluded that the transaction, which involves a public-private partnership (PPP) project through a cooperative agreement, will not result in “substantial reduction, restriction, or prevention of competition in the relevant market.”
The PCC said its decision was based on three key points – competition in the construction services market, connections between companies as major players in the market, and the possibility of joint ventures.
“The Commission found that competition between construction companies was strong due to the presence of many qualified contractors in the construction services market,” the PCC said.
According to the PCC, it found that the relationship between House of Investments and EEI Corp., in which it has the majority of shares, will not prevent other construction companies. fimport customers.
“The Commission found that the companies involved in this project do not have commercial businesses, and that the presence of many companies in the market helps to promote competition,” said the PCC.
ISN’T IT POSSIBLE?
Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said the Sangley Point airport was not expected to be possible with the current operations of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport and the development of New Manila. International Airport (NMIA) in Bulacan.
“In the Philippines, Sangley Airport is one of the busiest airports. Airports are agglomerative, contrary to the saying the merrier the more. “Sangley will probably not be able to work without two conditions: the closure of NAIA and the expressway link to Manila,” said Mr. Santiago in a Viber message on Monday.
For Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior consultant in PPP at technical consulting group Libra Konsult, Inc., Sangley Point Airport remains important and has the potential to be economically viable.
“We still need to build the road that leads to Metro Manila. It may have its advantages; most states of the world have multiple airports. The determining factors are economic stability which will depend on the volume of passengers,” said Mr. Villarete in a Viber message.
Mr. DoTr’s Lim said the current plan is to improve existing facilities such as a general airport.
“Sangley is working a little bit. There is a limit to working with conventional airlines,” he said.
Mr. Lim also added that the next important infrastructure that needs to be built is a dedicated road to Cavite City.
“To attract airlines to relocate to Sangley, because customers will always be sensitive to that. Right now, that’s a missing piece,” said Mr. Lim, though he declined to give details about the plan.
The Provincial Government of Cavite has awarded the consortium an 11 billion rand project by 2022.
The consortium aims to develop the airport into an international hub that will meet future needs.
The National Government is currently using Sangley Point in Cavite City as an additional runway to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
In February 2023, the SPIA consortium and the Cavite provincial government signed a development cooperation agreement to start the project.
The House of Investments, along with other Philippine members of the consortium, including MacroAsia Corp., signed a development agreement with the provincial government of Cavite.
Samsung C&T Corp., Munich Airport International GmbH, and Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd. are also involved in the project.
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