By means of Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE Transport Department said Sang’s developmentLey Point International Airport (SPIA) remains uncertain as the joint venture must obtain other approvals before moving forward with the project.
This comes after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) announced on Monday that it has approved the proposed joint venture between the provincial government of Cavite and the SPIA consortium, which also includes Virata-led Cavitex Holdings, Inc. and Yuchengcos’ House of Investments, Inc. belong.
“Overall, this project is still in its early stages,” said Roberto CO Lim, Assistant Minister of Transport for Aviation and Airports. in a telephone interview on Monday.
After the PCC approval, the consortium must submit their proposal, including the detailed technical design, Mr Lim said.
“The ministry 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 must also obtain an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to start the project.
“The ECC compliance is another thing they have to secure because it’s in the water and that’s a problem. I think the approval of the Philippine Reclamation Authority is another authority that should give approval,” he said.
For now, Mr Lim says it is difficult to say whether the group can obtain all the necessary approvals within a year.
Separately, the transportation department and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said they will expedite the review of the project as soon as possible.
“The joint venture must submit relevant project documents to DoTr and CAAP indicating the scope, design, financials, technical and aeronautical studies, timelines and plans for review. DoTr and CAAP will expedite the review of the documents once they are received from the joint venture,” DoTr said in a statement.
In July, House of Investments told the stock exchange that the PCC had approved the joint venture for the SPIA project.
On Monday, the PCC released a statement concluding that the transaction, which involves a public-private partnership (PPP) project through a joint venture agreement, will not result in a “substantial reduction, restriction or prevention of competition in the market”. relevant market.”
PCC said its decision was based on three main points: the competition in the construction services market, the link between the companies as key market players and the potential possibility of overlapping activities.
“The Commission found that competition among construction companies was robust due to the presence of numerous qualified contractors in the construction services market,” PCC said.
According to the PCC, it has determined that the relationship between House of Investments and EEI Corp., in which it owns a majority interest, will not prevent other construction companies from Ffind customers.
“The Commission has determined that the companies collaborating on this project do not have overlapping businesses and that the presence of numerous companies in the market helps maintain competition,” PCC said.
NOT FEASIBLE?
Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said the Sangley Point Airport is 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 airport too many. Airports are agglomerative, contrary to the adage of the more the merrier. It is unlikely that Sangley will be viable without two conditions: closure of NAIA and a highway connection to Manila,” Santiago said in a Viber message on Monday.
For Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior PPP advisor 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 link with Metro Manila. It can have its advantages; many capitals of the world have multiple airports. The determining conditions are economic viability, which will depend on passenger volume,” Mr. Villarete said in a Viber message.
DoTr’s Mr Lim said the current plan at the moment is to upgrade the existing facilities as a general aviation airport.
“Sangley is now operating on a limited basis. There are limited operations via general aviation aircraft,” he said.
Mr Lim also added that the next major infrastructure to be built is a dedicated road to Cavite City.
“So airlines will be attracted to shift their operations to Sangley as the customers would always be sensitive to it. Right now that is a missing piece,” Mr Lim said, although he declined to provide further details on this plan.
The provincial government of Cavite awarded the $11 billion project to the consortium in 2022.
The consortium aims to develop the airport into an international hub that will meet future demand.
The national government currently operates Sangley Point in Cavite City as an additional runway to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
In February 2023, the SPIA consortium and the provincial government of Cavite signed the Joint Venture and Development Agreement for the implementation of the project.
House of Investments, along with other Philippine consortium members including MacroAsia Corp., signed the 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.