Dredging

Boskalis awarded €1.5 billion land development project for Manila International Airport

Baird Maritime

Royal Boskalis Westminster has emerged as the winner of a competitive tender process for the provision of land development design and construction of a new international airport situated just outside the Philippine capital city of Manila.

The letter of confirmation was issued by San Miguel Aerocity (SMAI), a subsidiary of Filipino conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC). SMAI is the concession holder of the future Manila International Airport (MIA), which is a greenfield development aimed at serving the growing air traffic demands in the Greater Capital Region of Manila and will complement the air traffic operations at the existing Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The MIA land development project has an estimated value of €1.5 billion (US$1.84 billion)

Approximately 1,700 hectares of land will be developed for the MIA in Bulakan, located around 20 kilometres north of Metro Manila in Bulacan province. The land development project will be designed according to the highest technical and environmental standards to withstand potential large earthquakes, local typhoons, and future sea level rise.

For the dredging activities, which will span over a period of three years, Boskalis will deploy a number of trailing suction hopper dredgers including its largest mega hopper dredgers and a large cutter suction dredger.

Boskalis' workplan and methodology includes measures to prevent soil liquefaction in the entire area through the use of dynamic compaction.

Preparatory work is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2021 with the land development project expected to be completed by the end of 2024.