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San Miguel Corp. (SMC) unveiled rail and road network projects that will provide seamless travel to its P740-billion airport project in Bulacan
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Projects include an 8-kilometer airport toll road connecting the airport to NLEX and Skyway Stage 3, as well as 12 expressway projects and Mass Rail Transit-7 lines
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Bulacan LGUs agreed to align their road network projects to complement those to be built by SMC
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) unveiled an ambitious rail and road network projects aimed at providing seamless travel to its P740-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan.
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in a statement these projects will form a massive infrastructure network to make the airport easily accessible from Metro Manila and various points in Luzon, and to further unlock the economic potential of many provinces.
With these projects and the airport, “travel and trade in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and outside the country will be easier and more efficient,” Ang added. “This is part of our commitment to invest more in our country and help our government and our people build back better.”
SMC unit San Miguel Aerocity Inc. in 2019 was awarded the concession agreement for its unsolicited proposal to build, develop, and operate the NMIA in Bulakan, Bulacan.
READ: DOTr officially awards Bulacan airport project to San Miguel
Ang said he is happy local government units (LGUs) in Bulacan share the company’s vision for an airport in Bulacan and will align their road network projects to complement the airport transport system.
“With the LGUs agreeing to align their own road network projects to those that will be built by San Miguel, we can significantly reduce traffic congestion and improve the transport system in the province,” Ang said.
SMC said its airport development plan includes an 8-kilometer airport toll road that will connect the airport to the North Luzon Expressway and link the air hub to the recently completed 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 going to the South Luzon Expressway.
In a recent meeting with Bulacan LGUs, SMC presented several proposed road expressway projects that include the NMIA Airport Expressway, Integrated Airport Toll Expressway Network-Northern Access Link, Integrated Airport Toll Expressway Network-Southern Access Link, Integrated Airport Toll Expressway Network-Central Access Link, East Metro Manila Expressway, Northeast Airport Expressway, Calamba-San Pedro Expressway, Bulacan-Tarlac Expressway (BTEX), Bataan-Bulacan Expressway (BBEX), Skyway Stage 3-R10 NMIA Expressway, Mass Rail Transit-7 (MRT-7) Road, and NMIA Expressway MRT-7 (Road Spur Access).
Proposed railway transport modes are the MRT-7 Katipunan Spur, MRT-7 Airport Expressway-North Line, MRT-7 Airport Expressway-West Line, MRT-7 Extension Project, and MRT-7 Airport Expressway Southeast Line, all of which have been granted original proponent status.
MRT-7 is a 23-kilometer elevated railway from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan that is expected to be partially operational from the North Avenue common station to Fairview in Quezon City in 2021.
The project, which broke ground in 2016 after a seven-year delay, is being undertaken by SMC-subsidiary Universal LRT Corporation.
“These proposed rail and road networks that will form part of a seamless transport system will allow the province to accommodate the millions of passengers who will enter the country through the Bulacan airport every year,” Ang said.
“It will also allow the smooth delivery of goods and services, particularly coming from the Bulacan Airport City Economic Zone that is expected to attract business locators and provide employment to local residents.”
The NMIA project is under a build-operate-transfer arrangement, with SMC undertaking to finance, design, construct, supply, complete, test, commission, and operate and maintain the new international gateway.
The 50-year concession period will start once the project’s initial phase has been completed.
The airport, to be built on a 2,500-hectare area in Bulakan, will have a passenger terminal building with a design capacity of 100 million to 200 million passengers per year, four parallel runways that are upgradable to six, and eight taxiways.
READ: P20B raised from SMC share sale to fund airport, rail projects
Earlier, SMC said it will pour the P20 billion it raised from the sale of its shares into its investments, particularly in transportation projects NMIA and MRT-7.
