San Miguel releases P11B for NAIA Expressway project

MANILA, Philippines - The Ninoy Aquino International Airport's (NAIA) Terminals 1 and 2 will soon be connected to the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and the Entertainment City casino complex after the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) released P11 billion for the construction of the NAIA Expressway Phase II project, the Palace announced on Wednesday.

SMC made the payment through the SMC Vertex Tollways Development, Inc. after winning the bid last April 15. The Department of Public Works and Highways sent to SMC last May 6 the formal notice for award for the project.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the project could start some time this month, to be divided in two phases.

The proposed NAIA Expresssway has a total length of 7.15 kilometers, with the first phase expected to be completed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2015.

“Hopefully before APEC, that will be completed. There’s another phase which is II-B, which will connect the Skyway to the existing tollways,” Lacierda said.

The P15.5-billion NAIA Expressway Phase II project is the third public-private partnership project to be successfully bidded out by the government, the Palace reported.