The Naia Consortium, a group of major conglomerates, said Wednesday it is not seeking any government guarantee to expand and rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Jimbo Reverente, spokesperson of Naia Consortium, said all airport proposals had provisions for terminal fees subjected to reasonable adjustment during the life of the contract.
Reverente said terminal fees were not different from the fares passengers pay when riding LRT or when using toll roads.
Government guarantees are those that in general protect proponents from risks and make sure they make money even if the project fails.
Reverente said the consortium was not asking for such protection and guarantee and was willing to take all the risks, including a drop in the number of passengers and consequently revenues.
The consortium, composed of seven of the country’s largest conglomerates, committed to spend around P102 billion to increase the terminal capacity of Naia, install a people mover that will efficiently connect the passenger terminals and raise the number of flights to give passengers more options and flexibility.
Naia, which has a design capacity of 31 million passengers, accommodated 42 million last year. The figure is expected to go up to around 47 million by 2020 and 52 million by 2022.
“If we get the clearance to start work by late this year, we can increase this capacity to 47 million by 2020 and to 65 million by 2022. There will be enough space for everybody and Naia can serve as a catalyst for growth all over the country in terms of trade, tourism, and investments,” he said.
The Naia Consortium proposed to expand and interconnect the existing terminals of Naia, upgrade airside facilities and develop 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.
GMR-Megawide, the operator of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, also bids to upgrade and operate Naia, while San Miguel Corp. proposed to build an entirely new airport in nearby Bulacan province.