San Miguel Corp Gets Greenlight From House to Construct P740-Billion Bulacan Airport
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has officially secured a franchise from the House of Representatives after the third and final reading of a bill to grant the corporation permission to construct a P740 billion international airport in Bulacan.
Also read: The Best Airports in the Philippines
The House almost unanimously voted in favor of House Bill 7507 with a vote of 218-6 with two abstentions.
Through San Miguel Aerocity, Inc., SMC will build a four-to-six runway airport that will have the capacity to serve 100 million passengers per year. It will also build an airport city near the airport.
The goal of the Bulacan International Airport is to decongest the traffic at Ninoy International Airport, while also providing almost a million jobs for the surrounding communities in Bulacan. SMC earlier released a statement saying that it plans to train local residents and OFWs to be employed in the project.
The airport is not without criticism as activists have called out the project for potentially displacing hundreds of families and small businesses once construction is underway. SMC COO Ramon Ang has stated the displaced residents will be prioritized in the training and hiring program, adding that the construction of the airport will also bring business to nearby eateries, sari-sari stores, and the like.
