BULAKAN, Bulacan – With about 80% of land development, particularly land piling along the Manila Bay shoreline, already completed, construction of the terminal building for the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) here is expected to begin in 2026.
Thus, announced the Department of Transportation during an inspection and project briefing conducted by the Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC), led by the National Economic Development Authority.
According to Engr. Abelardo Sore Jr., DOTr project manager for NMIA, the terminal building will rise on a 2,500-hectare site, designed by San Miguel Aero City Inc. (SMAI) to include five wings and 240 boarding gates.
Once completed, the airport will be capable of handling between 35 million to 100 million passengers annually, positioning it as one of Southeast Asia’s largest air transport hubs.
Behind the terminal, plans are underway for four parallel runways, with construction on the first two scheduled to start soon.
Engr. Norberto Conti of SMAI noted that the remaining land development requires an additional 33 million cubic meters of sand to complete the reclamation works. If the timeline stays on track, the terminal construction could start in 2026, with full airport operations expected by 2028.
The NMIA project is being developed under a public-private partnership scheme. Under this model, the private sector, represented by San Miguel Corp., funds, constructs, and manages the facility, which will eventually revert to government ownership upon expiration of the concession period.
SMC was awarded the concession by the DOTr in 2019, and subsequently secured a 50-year franchise through RA 11506 (An Act Granting San Miguel Aerocity Inc. a Franchise to Construct, Develop, Establish, Operate and Maintain a Domestic and International Airport in the Municipality of Bulakan…) passed in 2020. The airport’s total estimated cost is P735 billion, of which P536 billion has already been registered with the Board of Investments.
Complementing the airport is a network of 21 planned access roads and expressways, including the eight-kilometer spur road from the North Luzon Expressway connecting Marilao and Balagtas, as well as the Northern Access Link Expressway, currently under construction. Vinson F. Concepcion/PIA-3
