Bulacan airport advancing in line with international standards

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The Philippine Star

December 16, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is advancing with the land development works for the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan, with development guided by international standards and supported by experienced global partners.

“SMC has committed hundreds of billions of pesos to build a major international gateway that will benefit the country for generations,” the company said in a statement.

“We remain fully committed to completing this project responsibly and in accordance with global best practices,” it said.

The NMIA is poised to be a world-class airport that will be developed in phases, with an initial capacity of 35 million passengers annually and a target of 100 million passengers per year once completed.

The 2,500-hectare project features at least four parallel runways, a world-class terminal and a modern and interlinked infrastructure network that includes expressways and railways.

SMC said land development works for the project continue to progress in line with international best practices, noting the continued engagement of Boskalis Westminster, one of the world’s leading dredging and marine infrastructure companies.

“Boskalis continues to support the NMIA development and remains engaged with SMC in our technical and advisory role. We are aligned in ensuring that all works meet internationally recognized standards,” Boskalis said.

Further, SMC said that NMIA’s land development complies with International Finance Corp. environmental and social performance standards, the benchmark for infrastructure projects supported by multilateral and global lenders.

The standards govern project design, monitoring, risk mitigation and community safeguards.

“These requirements exceed typical local regulations and ensure that all development works meet the highest global standards. Very few projects in the Philippines operate under this level of environmental and social commitment and compliance,” SMC said.

The company also said that the development is guided by extensive hydrological studies, independent engineering reviews and continuous environmental monitoring, alongside long-term flood-mitigation measures for surrounding communities.

SMC likewise continues river cleanup and rehabilitation efforts across Bulacan and nearby provinces at no cost to government.

In line with these ongoing developments, the company has refuted claims circulating online which cast doubt on the project’s viability, saying that these do not reflect actual progress on the ground.

SMC said that these inaccurate and misleading posts only create unnecessary confusion for the public and concern among stakeholders.

“We encourage anyone with questions about the project to raise them through proper channels, where they can be discussed transparently and with access to verified technical information,” the company said.