Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will review the ₱100-billion unsolicited proposal of a newly-formed consortium to upgrade and operate the main gateway Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), its chief said Friday, following the failure of similar proposals to take off in the past.
Transportation Secretary Jimmy Bautista said he already received the proposal from the group created by the country’s major tycoons.
READ: Consortium proposes over ₱100B in upgrades to NAIA
The Manila International Airport Consortium or MIAC is composed of six big Filipino conglomerates: Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corporation, Alliance Global Infracorp Development, Inc., Filinvest Development Corporation, and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corporation.
It also includes US-based Global Infrastructure Partners.Bautista, however, said that they are still in talks with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) regarding the requirements in terms of privatizing the operations and maintenance of NAIA.The transportation secretary added that they may only accept the unsolicited proposal of the consortium if it will meet the parameters that will be set by the DOTr and the ADB.“Pag-aaralan namin ‘yan. In fact today… my team is meeting with ADB because alam niyo naman (you know already) we have engaged ADB to assist us in determining who can be the best operator for the Manila international airport,” Bautista said.“We welcome the submission of unsolicited proposal but for us to get the best terms baka kailangan talaga review-hin ‘yung proposal. And ADB can assist kung ano ba ‘yung terms na dapat i-impose natin sakali mang pag-usapan na namin itong proposal ng super constortium,” he added.[Translation: We welcome the submission of the unsolicited proposal but for us to get the best terms, maybe, the proposal really needs to be reviewed. And ADB can assist us in identifying the terms that we should impose if we ever discuss this proposal of the super consortium.]Bautista said they are not closing their doors to other proposals.Currently, NAIA is being operated by the Manila International Airport Authority or MIAA, a government-owned and controlled corporation.Big groups in the local market have been eyeing the rehabilitation of the main air hub, with proposals consistently failing to move forward. Over five years ago, the first super consortium—also composed of the six members in the new group—submitted to then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration a whopping ₱350-billion unsolicited proposal to operate and maintain NAIA.The proposal was challenged by listed construction firm Megawide, partnering with Indian company GMR Infrastructure, with their $3-billion proposal.The old consortium then revised its bid to ₱102 billion.While it was prioritized by the DOTr before, several issues emerged during the process, including problems with its manpower absorption and uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually leading to the government rejecting its fresh proposal.
Megawide’s group took over, but issues with its financial muscle to finance the project likewise hindered it to take off.
