San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said it will be hiring local residents of Bulacan and its nearby provinces, as well as returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for the construction of the New Manila International Airport, SMC President Ramon S. Ang said on Wednesday.
The company is prioritizing the local residents of Barangay Taliptip in Bulacan, where the airport will be developed. All 60 residents will soon be trained by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) for the airport’s construction.
“We designed these skills training program with Tesda specifically to equip Bulakeños with the necessary skills needed to either work at the airport project, put up a small businesses to support airport workers, or even start on their own elsewhere if they choose to do so,” he said.
Ang added that his group expects the construction to generate “hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.”
“We will prioritize local residents, but there will be so many jobs and livelihood opportunities that ultimately, workers will come from all over Bulacan, Central Luzon, even Metro Manila, and southern Luzon,” he said.
“A lot of OFWs had to return to the country in recent months after they lost their jobs. Many are not sure if they will be getting new contracts from their foreign employers given the difficult economic conditions. With this world-class airport project, those who will opt to stay home will no longer be separated from families and will have a viable option,” Ang said.
The project will be built on a 2,400-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, just north of Metro Manila, the $15-billion airport complex will have 4 runways, 8 taxiways, and 3 passenger terminals. It also has provisions for the eventual expansion to sport 6 runways and to accommodate 200 million passengers per year.
SMC’s project also expected to help raise tourism levels to 30 million annually, generate over a million direct and indirect jobs, and contribute about P900 billion annually to Philippine GDP by 2025.
“Construction activities will have an immediate economic impact on so many sectors. These create much-needed jobs that put money in people’s hands and allow them and their families to spend on their needs. This spending benefits many small and medium businesses, local eateries, sari-sari stores, groceries, and service establishments,” Ang said.
He added: “Apart from direct jobs, the company also has to pay for suppliers of materials, equipment, or services, which then generates even more jobs and benefits more people. Short to medium term, we can help so many Filipinos with jobs and help kickstart our economic recovery. Long term, this airport will help create even more growth opportunities for our country.”
San Miguel Corporation is listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange as $SMC and as of 3 PM of September 2, 2020, it was last traded at P101.60 a piece +1.30% higher than its previous close.
Read More: CNN
-StockBytes PH, September 3, 2020.
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