MANILA - The Province of Cavite has formally given the Notice of Award to the SPIA Development Consortium for the development of the $11 billion Sangley Point International Airport, a consortium member said Thursday.

The SPIA Development Consortium is led by infrastructure developer Cavitex Holdings Inc, financial firm House of Investments Inc and Samsung C & T Corp, with other members including LT Group's aviation service arm MacroAsia Corp, Munich Airport International GmbH, and Ove Arup & Partners Hong kong Limited.

Samsung's C&T Corp is the builder of Burj Khalifa. Arup & Partners Hong kong Limited is part of renowned land reclamation and airport projects globally. Munich Airport, meanwhile, is the only airport in Europe with a 5-Star Airport rating from Skytrax Institute.

The ceremony for the development of the Sangley Point Airport Project was held last Sept. 14, MacroAsia told the stock exchange.

“This new airport is the future of the country. This airport is the hope of the country. The Province is just a small player. But if we work together, we can do this for our people,” Gov. Jonvic Remulla said in a separate statement issued by the Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee of the provincial government of Cavite.

The consortium said it aims to transform the facility to a "fully modernized, world class and clean airport that will be a source of pride not only for Cavitenos but the entire Filipino people."

With the notice of award, the SPIA said it could begin the necessary work to begin the project.

The consortium has 18 months from the signing of the Joint Venture and Development Agreement, which will take place next month, to finalize the project's design and business plan prior to the construction.

"The challenge is great, but the SPIA Development Consortium is very well prepared for the work at hand, highly committed to deliver within the project timelines because of the local and international members who are all highly reputable developers and investors that have enviable track records in developing large-scale infrastructure projects," the consortium said.

Sangley Airport will serve as an alternative to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which will be designed to meet the demand for air transport in the next 30 to 40 years.

The phase 1 of the project, including the first runway, is expected to be operational by 2028, the provincial government said. Some 50,000 jobs and economic activities in the area are expected to be generated by the project, it added.

Sangley Point International Airport will have two runway with a capacity of 80 million passengers annually, expandable to four runways to increase capacity to 130 million, the consortium said.

The project was originally awarded to a consortium with China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) in 2019, but it was later on canceled by the Province of Cavite.

• MPIC chief Pangilinan again says he’s interested in Sangley airport
• Cavite cancels award for China Communications' $10-B Sangley airport project

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