The conglomerate imagines a green-designed, future-ready airport city that will serve as the “pace-setter” model for environmental urbanism in the Philippines.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has released a conceptual master plan for its aerocity development in Bulacan.
Stakeholders see the project as a major boost to both the national and local economies, especially since it will complement SMC’s P740-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project.
SMC tapped architecture firm Palafox Associates to masterplan its airport-centric city concept.
“These designs presented to us by architect [Jun] Palafox and his team will be close to actual. There will probably be some adjustments by the time we implement, and we will still continue to improve as needed, but in terms of the overall concept, design, and the features, this is it,” SMC president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang said.
The 2,500-hectare NMIA project will initially feature four parallel runways, a terminal, and an interlinked infrastructure network that includes expressways and railways.
It will utilize renewable energy, accommodate different transportation modes, adopt green architectural and urbanism guidelines, comply with Philippine building and zoning codes, and follow structural codes of earthquake-zone countries.
Palafox Associates prepared the designs to address different socioeconomic, environmental, and climate issues. These also attempt to correct the related mistakes of Metro Manila’s urban developments.
“It’s very fortunate that when we sat down with architect Jun Palafox for this project, we had the same vision that the airport and aerocity projects should be sustainably built, geared towards the future, and address social and environmental concerns that have beset our existing cities, including the country’s major financial districts,” Ang said.
Photos by Palafox Associates via San Miguel Corporation website