The Philippines: Boskalis Nets Largest Deal in Its History

Dutch marine and dredging giant Boskalis has won a contract for the land development design and construction of the Manila International Airport (MIA) in the Philippines, in what the company said Tuesday was its largest contract ever.

The contract was awarded by San Miguel Aerocity Inc (SMAI), a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), one of the largest companies in the Philippines. 

SMAI is the concession holder of 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 and congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport. 

"The MIA land development project has an estimated value of EUR 1.5 billion, making this the largest project in Boskalis’ history," Boskalis said. Converted to U.S. dollars, the value of the deal is around $1.82 billion.

Peter Berdowski, CEO: “The confirmation of a project of this scale is fantastic news. As Boskalis, we have a rich tradition in creating land all over the world to the highest technical and environmental standards. We enthusiastically look forward to applying this know-how for the Manila International Airport land development. 

During the construction phase, we will contribute to the local economy and the new airport will bring further socio-economic growth to the greater Manila region. Through this project, we have secured the utilization for our large dredging vessels for the coming years.” 

1,700 hectares of land 

Approximately 1,700 hectares of land will be developed for the MIA airport in Bulakan, located around 20 kilometers north from the heart 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," Boskalis said.

The government of the Philippines has granted a 50-year concession to SMAI to build, operate and maintain the airport. The land development phase will be financed through a consortium of international banks.  

Largest dredgers

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

"Boskalis’ work plan and methodology include measures to prevent soil liquefaction in the entire area through the use of dynamic compaction," the company said.

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