A consortium of seven conglomerates said it plans to submit a new proposal with a shorter concession period for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the Department of Transportation next month.
“We are currently in negotiations with DOTr with respect to what they find to be acceptable. Based on the DOTr’s communication, there is nothing in the law that prohibits the DOTr from requesting amendments to submissions in the process of evaluating proposals,” Jimbo Reverente, spokesman of Naia Consortium, told reporters at the sidelines of a forum sponsored by Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Reverente said the consortium was now looking at a 15-year concession period, which would be more acceptable to the government from an original proposal of 35 years.
“If the government has been saying that it’s too long, so we probably won’t be able to do phase 2. To do phase 2 will take almost 10 years. If the concession period is shorter, there won’t be enough time to recover the investment,” he said.
The consortium said it was committed to spend P100 billion for the first phase of the project and P250 billion for the second phase.
The consortium’s members are Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., AEDC, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso said Naia Consortium’s 35-year concession period proposal for the airport rehabilitation “seems to be not acceptable to the government because it will unduly tighten the government hands.”
The proposal involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of Naia, upgrading airside facilities and developing commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhance passenger comfort and experience and improve public perception of Naia as the country’s premier international gateway.
The project is divided into two phases. Phase 1 includes improvement and expansion of terminals at the current Naia land area, while Phase 2 involves the development of additional runway, taxiways, passenger terminals and associated support infrastructure.
The construction of an additional runway will ensure the ability of Naia to serve as Manila’s gateway in the years to come, bringing potential capacity up to 100 million passengers a year from over 40 million passengers last year.
The upgrades will elevate Naia to the level of major regional airports such as Changi in Singapore and Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok and will become a viable transit hub for the Asean region
Naia Consortium tapped world’s premier airport operators, Changi Airports International Pte. Ltd., to provide technical support in the areas of master planning, operations optimization and commercial development.