Sangley Point Airport (
Chavacano
Chavacano or Chabacano is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of speaker ...
: ''Aeropuerto de Punta Sangley''; fil, Paliparan ng Punta Sangley; ), also referred to as Cavite Airport, is a domestic airport at
Sangley Point,
Cavite City
Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people.
The city was the ...
in the Philippines primarily serving general aviation and turbo-propped airliners in the general vicinity of
South Luzon and the
Greater Manila Area
The Greater Manila Area is the contiguous urbanization region surrounding the Metropolitan Manila area. This built-up zone includes Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces of Bulacan to the north, Cavite and Laguna to the south, and Rizal ...
.
Currently a domestic airport, it will be later upgraded to an international airport adjacent to
Danilo Atienza Air Base
Danilo Atienza Air Base is a military base used by the Philippine Air Force, located on the northern end of the Cavite Peninsula in Manila Bay, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is adjacent to Cavite City, in Cavite Province.
History
On 1 Septe ...
and will be served with either
P2P buses or a
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...
from
SM Mall of Asia
SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Pasay, Philippines, within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area within Manila Bay, and the ...
. It is the fourth commercial airport to serve the Greater Manila Area, complementing and helping to decongest its neighboring
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
.
History
Early proposals
In 2013, the All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corporation (ARRC) — a venture headed by tycoon
Henry Sy
Henry Tan Chi Sieng Sy Sr. (; ; October 15, 1924 – January 19, 2019) was a Filipino businessman and investor.
Born in Fujian, he moved with his family to the Philippines at age 12. While his family returned to China, he stayed behind and f ...
— commissioned
Danish construction firm
Rambøll Group A.S. to conduct a feasibility study for the reclamation of 50 hectares off
Sangley Point and the development of an airport with two runways and a terminal capable of handling 50 million passengers annually in place of the current air base.
This was part of the so-called "Philippines Global Gateway" project proposed by the ARRC to the Philippine government in February 2016.
The entire ARRC project involves the construction of an airport and seaport facility, as well as an
industrial complex (ecozone), on land reclaimed from Manila Bay off Sangley Point;
[ it is estimated to cost US$50 billion, involving among other things the reclamation of a total of 2,500 hectares of land] and the construction of either an underwater tunnel to the SM Mall of Asia
SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Pasay, Philippines, within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area within Manila Bay, and the ...
complex in Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people.
Due to its location jus ...
or an extension of the Manila-Cavite Expressway to connect the project to Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
.
Construction of domestic airport
In December 2016, the ARRC also proposed to the Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperso ...
administration a plan to develop the existing Danilo Atienza Air Base and its 2.4 km long runway into a facility for low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
s and general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
"while waiting for the new airport." This proposal involves the construction of a 3.3-billion airport terminal. The air base's proposed conversion into a civil airport, if realized under this plan, is expected to reduce air traffic movements at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
(NAIA) by 20%.
Amid the increasing congestion and flight delays in NAIA, then-President Rodrigo Duterte ordered in June 2019 the transfer of domestic and general aviation operations to Sangley. The DOTr said it was just awaiting the construction of a passenger terminal building, hangars, a new tower, night operations equipment, and asphalt overlay of its existing 2,300-meter runway. Nevertheless, the President directed the operations in Sangley Point to start immediately and specifically gave a November deadline of the same year.
By October 27, 2019, Sangley had its operational dry run, in which transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade
Arthur "Art" Planta Tugade (born January 9, 1946) is a Filipino businessman and lawyer from Cagayan who served as the Secretary of the Department of Transportation under the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022. He previously held the pos ...
called "a success". The same day also welcomed its first arrival, a Cebu Pacific Cargo turboprop plane. The domestic airport was officially inaugurated on February 15, 2020 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
.
Redevelopment into international airport
The bidding for the redevelopment of the airport was opened on December 17, 2019. The sole bidder consisting of a consortium of China Communications Construction Company
China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC) is a majority state-owned, publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction and operation of infrastructure assets, including ...
and MacroAsia Corporation was awarded the contract on February 12, 2020, but the contract was terminated in January 2021 due to various deficiencies of the submission of requirements of the consortium.
Bidding was reopened in February 2021, but failed in October after no bids were submitted. In November 2021, the SPIA Development Consortium submitted an unsolicited proposal. The consortium, led by Cavitex Holdings Inc. and Yuchengco Group of Companies, is composed of MacroAsia Corporation, Samsung C&T Corporation
Samsung C&T Corporation ("Construction & Trading Corporation"; formerly Samsung Corporation; Korean: 삼성물산), is a South Korean construction and engineering company. It was founded in 1938 as the first Samsung company and was initially i ...
of South Korea, Munich Airport International GmbH (the management services arm of Munich Airport
Munich International Airport- Franz Josef Strauß (german: link=no, Flughafen München) is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt A ...
), and the London-based Arup Group
Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment ...
. The consortium was granted the original proponent status in January 2022, and was awarded the contract on September 15 after successfully overcoming the Swiss challenge
The Swiss Challenge is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, held in Switzerland, except in 2021, when it was held in France.
History
It was first played as the Credit Suisse Private Banking Open in 2000 and 2001 at the Golf Club Patriziale ...
set by the provincial government.
The first phase of the project would involve the construction of the first of four runways. The airport would initially have a capacity of 25 million passengers annually, with plans to construct a second runway and expand capacity to 75 million passengers annually.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
See also
* Danilo Atienza Air Base
Danilo Atienza Air Base is a military base used by the Philippine Air Force, located on the northern end of the Cavite Peninsula in Manila Bay, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is adjacent to Cavite City, in Cavite Province.
History
On 1 Septe ...
* List of airports in the Greater Manila Area
This is a list of airports in the Greater Manila Area, the most populous urban agglomeration in the Philippines. Though there are several definitions over what comprises the area, for the purposes of this article the entire administrative region of ...
** Clark International Airport
Clark International Airport ( pam, Pangyatung Sulapawan ning Clark; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Clark; ), known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport from 2003 to 2012, is an international airport covering portions of the cities of ...
** Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
** New Manila International Airport
References
{{authority control
2020 establishments in the Philippines
Airports established in 2020
Airports in the Philippines
Buildings and structures in Cavite City
Transportation in Cavite