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Bulakan airport takes shape in Manila Bay, Philippines, with 80% of earthworks completed, terminal planned for 2026 and ambition to enter the Southeast Asian map as a structure capable of receiving up to 100 million passengers per year, if the schedule proceeds without major new delays.
The billion-dollar airport planned in Bulakan, Bulacan province, is back in the spotlight in the Philippines after officials reported that about 80% of the land development has already been completed, especially the earthworks phase along the Manila Bay coast.
As reported by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the project, known as the New Manila International Airport, or NMIA, foresees terminal construction starting in 2026 and aims for an operation capable of serving 35 million to 100 million passengers per year. If the schedule is maintained, the structure could become fully operational in 2028.
Work advances on reclaimed area in Manila Bay
The new airport is being built on a planned 2,500-hectare area in Bulakan, as part of one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects. The most visible stage so far is land preparation, which involves reclamation, leveling, and consolidation of a strategic coastal area near the Philippine capital.
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According to information presented by the Philippine Department of Transportation, approximately 80% of this phase has already been completed. This progress is significant because, before any terminal, runway, or gate can become operational, the project relies on transforming a large coastal area into land suitable for heavy airport infrastructure.
This phase, however, is not yet finished. Representatives linked to the project indicated that an additional 33 million cubic meters of sand will be needed to complete the reclamation works. This data shows that, although the airport has already overcome a significant part of the initial preparation, the scale of the undertaking continues to demand a large volume of material and logistics.
Terminal planned for 2026 will have five wings and 240 gates
The next major planned stage is the construction of the terminal, scheduled to begin in 2026. The planned structure includes five wings and 240 boarding gates, numbers that indicate the intention to create an airport complex far exceeding the size of a common regional terminal.
Bulakan airport was designed to expand the air capacity of the Manila metropolitan area, one of the most pressured urban areas in Southeast Asia. With 240 gates, the project aims to better distribute the flow of passengers, aircraft, and connections, reducing reliance on existing infrastructure.
Behind the future terminal, work is also planned for four parallel runways. The first two are expected to begin construction in an initial phase, creating the operational base of the complex. The presence of parallel runways is an important point because it allows for more consecutive landings and takeoffs, provided that the other control, security, and terminal systems can accommodate this capacity.
Airport can receive up to 100 million passengers per year
When completed, the NMIA is expected to have an estimated capacity of between 35 million and 100 million passengers per year. This variation shows that the airport can start with a smaller capacity and expand its operation as new phases are delivered, demand grows, and complementary structures are finalized.
The promise of reaching 100 million passengers per year places the project among Asia’s major air transport hubs. In practice, this means the airport was not planned merely to serve domestic flights or alleviate occasional queues, but to reposition Manila in the competition for international connections.
This type of undertaking also typically generates indirect effects on logistics, tourism, commerce, and urban development. In the Philippine case, the Bulakan location could shift part of the economic growth away from the capital’s most congested core, creating new areas of interest for businesses, services, and transportation.
Public-private partnership puts private sector in charge of construction
The airport is being developed through a public-private partnership. In this model, San Miguel Corporation, through San Miguel Aero City Inc., is responsible for financing, building, and managing the enterprise during the concession period.
The concession was obtained from the Department of Transportation in 2019. Afterwards, the company secured a 50-year franchise through Republic Act No. 11506, approved in 2020. At the end of this period, the structure must revert to the ownership of the Philippine government, as stipulated in the concession model.
The estimated total cost of the project is 735 billion Philippine pesos. Of this amount, 536 billion pesos have already been registered with the country’s Board of Investments. The financial volume reinforces the scale of the work and also explains why the progress of the schedule is closely monitored by economic monitoring and planning bodies.
Road accesses will be decisive for the airport to function
An airport of this size does not depend solely on runways and terminals. To receive millions of passengers per year, the project needs to be connected to highways, expressways, and access systems capable of absorbing the flow of cars, buses, cargo, and services.
Therefore, the plan includes a network of 21 access roads and expressways. Among them is an eight-kilometer branch of the North Luzon Expressway, connecting Marilao to Balagtas, in addition to the North Access Expressway, known as NALEX, which is already under construction.
These connections will be decisive in determining whether the airport will be able to operate efficiently once it becomes operational. Without adequate access, even a modern terminal can face bottlenecks outside the departure area, especially during peak hours and periods of high international traffic.
Megaproject could change Manila’s air traffic dynamics
The progress of the Bulakan airport comes at a time when major Asian cities are competing for airport capacity, logistical efficiency, and international connectivity. Manila, due to its location and economic weight, has a direct interest in expanding its infrastructure to serve passengers, cargo, and new routes.
Nevertheless, the project carries challenges typical of coastal megaprojects: high demand for materials, the need to complete complex technical stages, risks of delay, and dependence on complementary works. The completion of earthworks, the effective start of the terminal, and the delivery of accesses will be the central points for measuring whether the 2028 schedule is viable.
If everything proceeds as planned, the New Manila International Airport could become one of the main gateways to the Philippines and a new air hub in Southeast Asia. But until then, the project will still need to transform billions in numbers, giant landfills, and promises of capacity into actual operation.
And you, do you believe an airport of this size can change the Philippines’ position in international aviation, or do giant projects like this usually face more delays than results? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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