SMC Denies Bulacan Airport Project Caused Flooding

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI) said on Thursday that the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project was not to blame for recent flooding in Bulacan, saying years of engineering studies and flood-mitigation measures underpin the airport’s development. SMAI, the airport developer of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said on Thursday that the allegation circulating online was not backed by hydrological data, technical analysis or an identified expert source. “NMIA did not cause Bulacan’s flooding. This is a problem the province has had to contend with for many generations,” it stressed. READ: Ramon Ang: Bulacan flooding due to low elevation, narrow rivers SMAI issued the statement days after residents, farmers and fisherfolk held a protest in Bulacan over flood-control projects and developments they blamed for worsening floods in the province. Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya specifically raised concerns over NMIA, citing flooding and subsidence risks associated with the project. According to SMAI, Bulacan’s flooding stems from a combination of its low-lying geography, heavy rainfall, upstream river flows, limited river capacities and land subsidence. Danish international firm DHI began research, engineering studies and hydrological modeling for NMIA as early as 2018. These examined surrounding waterways, historical typhoons and storm surges, land subsidence and the project’s potential impact on drainage and flood levels. In 2021, UK-based engineering firm Mott MacDonald consolidated DHI’s models and baseline data to align the project with international lender standards. Dutch marine engineering firm Boskalis and DHI later devised a solution to deepen riverbeds while narrowing their bottom width instead of extensively widening rivers, avoiding land constraints and impacts on mangrove areas. This was applied to the Maycapiz-Taliptip or Alipit, Santa Maria and Meycauayan rivers. From 2022 to 2024, SMC removed more than one million metric tons of silt and waste from the three rivers under its Better Rivers PH initiative. The conglomerate’s cleanup operations in Bulacan have since expanded, with more than 4.3 million metric tons removed as of Aug. 18. SMAI also stressed that NMIA is not a reclamation project but a development on existing titled land in Bulakan previously used as commercial fishponds. The company acknowledged that dredging alone may not be enough during severe rains, with some areas potentially requiring wider river channels, permanent river dikes, floodgates and pumping stations. SMAI said it would continue its flood-mitigation commitments and work with government agencies on broader measures to improve Bulacan’s flood resilience. The province became the focal point of last year’s flood control controversy after it was revealed that it got P44 billion out of the P548 billion worth of flood control projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) between July 2022 until May 30, 2025. Bulacan, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who headed the Senate blue ribbon committee which investigated the issue, was the “most notorious” in terms of anomalous flood control projects across the country. Officials of the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office were charged in court last year after many of their projects were found to be nonexistent or substandard. /das