MALOLOS CITY—The government must decide first on airport strategy before deciding on airport express.
This was the unsolicited advice given to the government by Ramoncito Fernandez, president and CEO of the
Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC).
Fernandez advice came after a furor last year over the proposed dual airport system with the Clark International Airport (CIA) In Pampanga as a parallel facility to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.
Others also see CIA as an alternative to ageing NAIA, but with the requisite fast mode of transportation going to the metropolis. As head of the MPTC, the mother company of Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), the concessionaire of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Fernandez said the government “must put first things first.”
“The government must decide first on airport strategy before deciding on airport express,” he said in an interview. “Why will you talk of airport express when you cannot decided on airport strategy.”
As this developed, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado and members of the Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC) have reiterated their proposal for the implementation of the north rail system
that will link Metro Manila and Clark Freeport Zone.
He said that the north rail is a key in the development of CIA which is projected to generate further development north of Manila. Alvarado did not deny rumors on the planned airport on the coastal town of Obando and Bulakan.
He said that some businessmen allegedly linked to Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corporation are looking at the
possibilities of establishing a new airport on land to be reclaimed on the said towns. One of the advantages of
the said plan is the proximity of Bulacan to NAIA. “Nothing is definite yet, but we will welcome it for the development of the coastal area of Bulacan,” Alvarado said.
He said that similar development strategy was implemented in other countries like China where development started on the coastal area and went inland. The governor also believes that if an airport is established in Obando and Bulakan town, it will lead to the construction of the Bulacan coastal highway which was proposed during the time of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
He described the proposed Bulacan coastal highway as a multi-purpose infrastructure project that will not only link the industrial giants in Cavite and Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales but will also address perennial flooding caused by sea level rise in the coastal towns of Bulacan.
