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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 23) – Experts warned on Wednesday of frequent flooding and soft soil at the site chosen for the planned international airport in Bulacan.
Phivolcs Director and Undersecretary Renato Solidum said that the chosen location of the New Manila International Airport faces several geographical dangers.
“The area is mostly under my sand and the water table is very shallow,” Solidum said during the Senate hearing on the area’s franchise. “This river environment requires special engineering interventions to make buildings and infrastructure resistant to hazards caused by earthquakes or weather-related activities such as heavy rains.”
Although far from the valley fault system that divides Luzon, the area is in tender terrain prone to tremors and liquefaction, or when loose soil near water loses strength, the seismology expert said. Flooding remains a major concern, as this part of the city of Bulakan is known to easily submerge in water when the rains come, he added.
But he noted that the project can continue as long as there are protocols for disaster risk reduction and business continuity, along with the construction of adequate drainage systems.
The group Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, or AGHAM, said separately that the entire 2,500-hectare airport city could submerge in water if a storm surge hits, and suggested to its contractor San Miguel Corporation that it consider a different location. .
For its part, SMC said these are taken into account as they finalize the detailed engineering design of the $ 736 billion project.
Melissa Encanto-Tagarda, head of SMC’s government relations unit, added that the company has turned to foreign partners considered experts in airport construction to ensure they are addressed. These partners are Groupe ADPi, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs, the companies behind Singapore’s Changi Airport, Atlanta Airport in the United States, and Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
Encanto-Tagarda expressed her confidence, saying that San Miguel will not put as much money into the project if it does not study and see that “this project is viable.”
The conglomerate led by businessman Ramon Ang will build the planned aerocity from scratch, which aims to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport once it is operational in a few years.
The planned gangway will have four runways for domestic and international flights, which should serve up to 200 million passengers a year.
Concerns were also expressed about potential social and environmental damage, especially mangroves and fishing areas that will now be converted to industrial lands. Some 342 families will also be displaced from two barangays, but the company said relocation places and jobs will be provided.
SMC will own and operate the new airport for 50 years and will remit the proceeds to the government once the profits are generated. Finally, the installation will be handed over to the national government.
The SMC Aerocity franchise, which includes tax breaks during the construction period, has already been approved by the House of Representatives and is awaiting Senate approval.
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