New Manila International Airport

New Manila International Airport
Bagong Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Maynila
Logo
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of the Philippines[1]
OperatorSan Miguel Aerocity Inc.[2]
ServesGreater Manila Area
LocationBarangays Taliptip and Bambang, Bulakan, Bulacan
Coordinates14°44′24″N 120°52′30″E / 14.74000°N 120.87500°E / 14.74000; 120.87500
Websitewww.sanmiguel.com.ph/page/san-miguel-aerocity-inc
Map
New Manila International Airport
Location in Bulacan
New Manila International Airport
Location in Luzon
New Manila International Airport
Location in the Philippines
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06L/24R 3,500 11,483 Concrete
06R/24L 3,500 11,483 Concrete
07L/25R 3,500 11,483 Concrete
07R/25L 3,500 11,483 Concrete

New Manila International Airport[a] (Filipino: Bagong Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Maynila), also known as Bulacan International Airport (Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Bulacan), is an international airport under construction on the coastal areas of Bulakan, Bulacan, 35 km (22 mi) north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This project aimed at decongesting the existing Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, is undertaken by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC).[1][2][5] The 2,500-hectare (6,200-acre) coastal airport is part of 12,000-hectare (30,000-acre) township entailing a residential zone, government center, seaport and an industrial zone,[6] which has been legally declared an economic zone and freeport.[7]

Phase-1 under-construction runway and passenger terminal are progressing as scheduled to meet its late 2028 completion date (Nov 2025 update).[8]

History

1945-2017: Multiple false-starts

See also: List of airports in the Greater Manila Area

A 1945 plan to build a central national airport on reclaimed land in Manila Bay in northeastern Pasay did not materialise.[9]

In 1972, The Manila Times reported that a new airport in Bulacan will be built to replace the Manila's International Airport but even that did not materialise as soon after martial law under Ferdinand Marcos was imposed and the new airport plans were eventually cancelled.

By early 1980s, Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport) had become congested and the 2012 plan for secondary airport in Manila proposed by SMC-owned Philippine Airlines was also later shelved.[10][11]

In May 2011, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)'s study on air transport needs within the Greater Manila Area, made a submission to the Philippine government that a new airport was "an urgent need" given that the capacity at the existing NAIA was "already almost saturated."[10] In May 2013, the government responded by adopting a dual-use twin-airport system, which entailed the upgrade of NAIA while also expanding capacity at Clark International Airport.[12] In 2015, JICA recommended the construction of a new airport near Sangley Point in Cavite City to the south of Manila Bay.[13][14] In 2013, a competing unsolicited proposal by SMC to build a new airport to the north of Manila Bay was rejected by the government,[15] a decision later reversed by the administration of the President Duterte in 2016 who favored multiple airports for the Greater Manila Area.[16]

2016-20: Bulacan airport plan approved

Consequently, 2017 SMC proposal to build a new airport north of Manila Bay under BOT scheme,[17][18] was approved in 2018 by the government,[19][20] and underwent a Swiss challenge where other prospective companies competed against the original project proponent SMC.[21][22][23] On 18 September 2019, SMC was awarded the ₱734-billion Bulacan airport deal,[1][2] under which the airport will be fully owned by the Philippine government under the BOT-scheme.[1] On 1 September 2020, Congress approved House Bill No. 7507, granting the San Miguel Aerocity a 50-year congressional franchise "to establish a domestic and international airport", and to "develop an adjacent airport city".[24][25][26]

2020-2028: Phase-1 construction

In 2019, SMC contracted three international firms, Groupe ADP Ingénierie, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs Engineering Group (the same builders behind Changi Airport, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Charles de Gaulle Airport) for the design ad construction.[27]

On 14 October 2020, the groundbreaking of the new airport began, and the construction of the phase-1 began on 18 March 2022 which includes the two runways and the terminal buildings of the new international airport.[28][29] Royal Boskalis, Dutch company contracted for the dredging of 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) site for the new airport,[30] commenced the preparatory work in 2021 and completed the land development in 2024.[30][31]

Environmental impact mitigation measures

Since 2019, several groups had been raising concerns about the environmental impact of the project, such as the increased risk of flooding and impact on the adjacent mangrove forests.[32][33][34] SMC responded with a mitigation plan,[35][36][32] launched its skills livelihood and relocation training for the affected residents,[37][38] undertook award-winning[39] 40-hectare (99-acre) "Saribuhay sa Dampalit" Biodiversity Offset Program in Malolos in Bulacan,[40] a site which is s stopover for wader bird migration along East Asian–Australasian Flyway and a natural flood protection sink-area.[39]

Airport facilities

Runways

The proposed airport will feature at least 4 runways, expandable to 6.[41][42]

Passenger terminals

It will have a capacity of 200 million passengers per year when fully built, which is about 6 times larger than the current capacity of NAIA.[22] The first phase of the project will include 2 of the 4 runways.[28]

Ground transportation

Expressways and Roads
It will also be connected to Metro Manila by an airport toll road with connections to the North Luzon Expressway and Radial Road 10.[42]
Rail
The airport will also be connected by rail to the MRT Line 7 through the MRT 7 Airport Express project.[43]
Last-mile connectivity
Airport will have the last-mile connectivity through public busses and taxis, with a parking area with 4000 vehicles capacity.[8]

Present status

  • 2025 Nov: dredging done and foundational plinth constructed for the airport, construction of Phase-1 passenger terminal and runway will commence early 2026 for the target completion by late 2028 to decongest NAIA.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ San Miguel Corporation officially refers to the airport as Manila International Airport.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "San Miguel, DOTr sign deal to build new Bulacan airport". ABS-CBN News. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Lopez, Melissa Luz (September 18, 2019). "Bulacan airport deal signed, construction to start December". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  3. ^ Mercurio, Richmond (June 19, 2021). "SMC working quietly on Bulacan airport – Tugade". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Gonzales, Iris (June 14, 2021). "SMC sets P100 billion capex for 2021". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  5. ^ de Vera, Ben O. (March 9, 2020). "2 major airport projects prepare for 2020 liftoff". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Amojelar, Darwin G. (December 27, 2018). "Bulacan airport to revive 12,000 has. of coastline". Manila Standard. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Bulacan freeport bill lapses into law". INQUIRER.net. June 29, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c New Manila International Airport, Philippines, airport-technology.com, 6 Nov 2025.
  9. ^ United States. Army Map Service (1943). Manila South, Philippine Islands, Manila City, Luzon (Map). 1:12,500. American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "JICA study cites urgency of NAIA situation". The Philippine Star. August 15, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  11. ^ Amojelar, Darwin G. (August 30, 2012). "PAL proposes new Manila international airport". InterAksyon.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.
  12. ^ "JICA tapped to study NAIA replacement". ABS-CBN News. October 24, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  13. ^ Agcaoili, Lawrence (January 2, 2015). "JICA to complete study on Sangley airport in June". The Philippine Star. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  14. ^ "New airport: JICA formally recommends Sangley". ABS-CBN News. June 16, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Marasigan, Lorenz S. (February 13, 2015). "Proposed $11-B Sangley Point Airport project hits major snag". Business Mirror. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  16. ^ Delavin, Imee Charles C. (March 23, 2017). "Gov't shifts airport strategy; to develop multiple gateways". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  17. ^ Camus, Miguel R. (February 15, 2017). "DOTr reviews San Miguel's P700B Bulacan airport". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  18. ^ SMC's airport proposal, 7 other projects get NEDA Board approval
  19. ^ NEDA Board approves negotiation report on P735-B Bulacan airport
  20. ^ Bulacan International Airport Project Gets Financial Support From San Miguel Corporation (SMDC)
  21. ^ DOTr eyes to finish Swiss challenge for Bulacan airport project by Q1 2019
  22. ^ a b "New Manila International Airport Project". PPP Philippine Government. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  23. ^ "SMC seen to bag Bulacan airport project this week". The Philippine Star. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  24. ^ Cruz, RG (September 1, 2020). "House approves on 2nd reading San Miguel's franchise for Bulacan airport". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  25. ^ "Bulacan Int'l Airport to start construction by October – SMC". CNN Philippines. July 15, 2020. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  26. ^ "San Miguel gets 50-year franchise for Airport City project in Bulacan as bill lapses into law". CNN Philippines. January 4, 2021. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  27. ^ "SMC partners with international firms to build Bulacan airport". CNN Philippines. August 13, 2019. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  28. ^ a b Gonzales, Iris (October 7, 2020). "SMC to start construction of Bulacan airport". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  29. ^ Rosales, Elijah Felice (July 25, 2023). "Bulacan airport nearing construction stage". The Philippine Star. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Boskalis receives EUR 1.5 billion land development project for Manila International Airport in the Philippines". Royal Boskalis B.V. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  31. ^ Mercurio, Richmond. "SMC working quietly on Bulacan airport – Tugade". Philstar.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Mayuga, Jonathan; Cabuag, VG. "ECC for SMC Bulacan airport plan justified, but draws flak". BusinessMirror. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  33. ^ "Group to Cimatu: Revoke ECC for Bulacan Aerotropolis project". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  34. ^ San Juan, Ratziel (October 8, 2019). "Ex-solon asks Cayetano to probe SMC's Bulacan airport project". The Philippine Star. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  35. ^ "SMC says dredging project to solve 'aerotropolis' flooding concerns". BusinessWorld. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  36. ^ "'Engineering interventions' to mitigate flooding in new airport in Bulacan, says Ramon Ang". ABS-CBN News. September 25, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  37. ^ "San Miguel Corp. begins skills, livelihood training for locals near Bulacan Airport site". CNN. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  38. ^ "SMC starts training workers for airport". Manila Bulletin. September 2, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  39. ^ a b Silverio, Frederick (November 6, 2024). "SMC wins award for biodiversity offset program in Bulacan". Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  40. ^ Loyola, James (February 26, 2024). "SMC launches Philippines' first biodiversity offset site". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  41. ^ "LOOK: New Manila International Airport in Bulacan proposed design released". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  42. ^ a b "SMC gears up for P734-B airport project". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  43. ^ "MRT 7 Airport Express". www.ppp.gov.ph. Public-Private Partnership Center. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  • Media related to New Manila International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
  • New Manila International Airport Project - Public-Private Partnership Center
  • New Manila International Airport - Resource page with project information and historical news archive.
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