1:20 AM | Saturday, February 14th, 2015

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) plans to present to the country’s main economic planning body a proposal to build a $10-billion international airport in Sangley Point, Cavite, by the third quarter of  2015.
The new air gateway, which the government said could be finished by 2025, aims to replace Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which has limited expansion options and suffering from heavy congestion.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya told reporters that the DOTC planned to move forward with the new airport once the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) provides the final study.
A Jica representative said the study could take more time but Abaya noted that the department was keeping an earlier-announced schedule.
“I clarified that hopefully by June this year, the feasibility study should be in a form which is already okay for Neda (National Economic and Development Authority) board approval,” Abaya told reporters during the Air Transport Joint Seminar between the Philippine and Japanese governments.
“They told me it would be brought to a form in June that is ready to go to Neda board,” he added.
A presentation by the DOTC showed that the department plans to submit the Sangley proposal to the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee in the third quarter of the year.
The new Sangley airport, estimated by Jica to have a development cost of P435.9 billion, was deemed crucial in meeting the capital region’s passenger demand, seen to more than triple to 101.4 million in 2040 from 31.9 million in 2012, part of a Jica-National Economic and Development Authority infrastructure roadmap showed.
The Sangley International Airport would be able handle about 55 million passengers per year when it opens in 2025, which together with the existing Naia in Manila would be enough to meet the area’s estimated demand of 59.1 million, Jica said.
The Sangley facility can eventually be expanded to handle 130 million passengers annually by 2050, it said.
Abaya noted that the DOTC was also working on shorter-term solutions to address congestion, including a new passenger terminal and increasing runway efficiency, although no final decision has been made.