Marcos targets 350 airport, seaport projects by end of term

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set an ambitious goal of building and rehabilitating gateways before the end of his term in 2028.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, he said the government will aim to complete 350 airport and seaport projects, with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) being a priority.

'Soon, it will be capable of accommodating 48 flights per hour, servicing our ever-increasing local and international flight routes, and catering to more than 62 million passengers per year. More than seventy airport and seaport development projects across the country have been completed, and another three hundred and fifty ongoing projects are set to be completed by 2028,' Marcos said before a joint session of Congress.

Marcos echoed business tycoon Ramon Ang's estimates when the San Miguel Corp. signed the NAIA rehabilitation deal with the Philippine government-a deal that the president dubbed in his SONA as a benchmark for transparency and competitiveness.

'Through this partnership, our foremost aerial gateway is now primed for a revitalization. Once considered among the worst and most stressful airports in the world, it will soon be a world-class international airport that we can be proud of,' Marcos said.

The president also touted improvements to the General Santos Airport, Bicol International Airport, as well as the Batangas Port PTB.

Marcos said that Public-Private Partnerships help develop projects under the 'Build Better More' program.

Since the beginning of his term, the president touted his 'Build Better More' or BBM program, a play on his name, Bongbong Marcos.

The Marcos administration has benchmarked a total of P 8.3 trillion for the BBM, which translated to 194 infrastructure flagship projects.

The planned infrastructure projects encompass areas of agriculture, digital connectivity, mass transport and more.

The president has inaugurated several infrastructure projects since his 2023 SONA, including a P940.46-million dam in Ilocos Norte, transmission lines in Bataan and the Grand Westside Hotel in Metro Manila.