Bulacan airport, Metro Manila subway likely to open by 2028

By Darwin G. Amojelar

The Department of Transportation said Monday the Bulacan International Airport and the Metro Manila Subway Project are expected to be partly operational by the end of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term in 2028.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the land development of the P740-billion New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan being developed by San Miguel Corp. is now almost 70-percent to 75-percent completed.

“We’re expecting it to be completed by the end of this year or early first quarter of next year, and after that the group of Mr. Ramon Ang can start con- struction of runways and the passenger terminal building,” Bautista said in an interview with ANC.

“I had a meeting with Mr. Ramon Ang. He said that all the plans are on track and financing is available. Their technical people are working on it, and we continue to review their submission of documents,” he said.

Bautista expressed optimism the new airport would be partly operational be- fore the end of the term of the president.

The project will feature four parallel runways, a world-class terminal and a modern and interlinked infrastructure network that includes expressways and railways

San Miguel tapped the services of global firms Groupe ADPi, Meinhardt Group and Jacobs Engineering to design and build the New Manila International Airport.

Bautista also said the P488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project was expected to be partly operational by 2028 and commence full operations by 2029.

“We’re hoping that the tunnel from Valenzuela to Ave. Avenue will be completed by the end of the year,” he said.

“We’re taking delivery of more tunnel boring machines which operate simultaneously, so that we will be able

PAL expands codeshare accord with China Airlines to finish the project by 2028 or maybe 2029. But we will try our best to complete it by 2028 or make it partly operational by 2028,” Bautista said.

PHILIPPINE Airlines said Monday it expanded its codeshare agreement with China Airlines to serve the growing travel demand between the Philippines and Taiwan.

The expanded codeshare arrangement allows PAL and China Airlines to offer greater connectivity and convenience to customers, with each carrier promoting the development of the air travel market between the two territories.

The 33-kilometer subway, dubbed as the “project of the century”, span from Valenzuela in the north to NAIA Terminal 3 and FTI in the south.

It is expected to reduce travel time between Quezon City and NAIA from one hour and 30 minutes to 35 minutes.

It is designed to serve around 370,000 passengers a day in its first year of full operations and up to 1 million passengers a day in later years.

It will be interconnected and interoperable with the North-South Commuter Railway System’s south segment, enabling a passenger to board a subway train at North Ave. Station of MMSP and get off at the Calamba Station of NSCR.

“Philippine Airlines is keen to serve the growing demand for travel stimulated by the continuing visa-free arrangement for Filipino travel to Taiwan. We will build on our strong partnership with China Airlines to offer more convenient access for Filipino tourists to visit Taiwan, even as we welcome Taiwanese tourists to come and visit the fun and festive Philippines,” said PAL vice president for sales Bud Britanico,

“Cebu is a great destination for both business and leisure, while Kaohsiung is a dynamic port city and economic hub that also houses many Overseas Filipino Workers. We are glad to expand our network, even as we continue to offer regular twice daily flights between Manila and Taipei,” he said.

PAL is now offering four times weekly codeshared services between Manila and Kaohsiung and five times weekly Cebu to Taipei fights. Darwin G. Amojelar Bureau

Warns Farmers Against 5 Common Pests

THE Bureau of Plant Industry warned farmers against the most common pests that could impact on the expected yield in the wet cropping harvest.

The BPI-Crop Pest Management Division listed five possible pests that farmers might encounter during the wet planting season. These are bacterial leaf blight, brown plant hopper, rodents, rice stem borer and rice black bug.

The CPMD issued an alert to all crops technical staff to closely monitor areas that are prone to infestation or infection by the five pests that occur in the third quarter of the year, based on historical data.

It asked farmers to be vigilant of their crops and actively work the government for immediate implementation of pest management activities. The bacterial leaf blight traditionally occurs in Regions 1, 3, 4-B, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Farmers are advised to adopt good planting practices and were also told to avoid excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer. Othel V. Campos

Euromoney names

BPI ‘Best Bank’ in PH

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. Meralco Rescue, in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection-Pasig and the Pasig Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, hold an emergency preparedness educational tour for 23 preschoolers of the Philippine Montessori Center. The children were taught basic skills on handling emergency medical incidents such as calling for help via the 911 hotline, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, how to use an automated external defibrillator, how to escape burning buildings through rappelling/zipline, what to do during zero visibility scenarios, and fire suppression. The training conducted at the Meralco Rescue Fire Sub-Station aims to instill the importance of emergency preparedness, alertness and presence of mind in the children, which can greatly help in times of crisis.