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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lucio Tan group to bid for Naia

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Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., a company led by tycoon Lucio Tan, said Monday it will participate in the auction for the $1.65-billion redevelopment of Ninoy Aquino International Airport under the public-private partnership scheme.

“We are participating in the bidding because we firmly believe in the growth potential of our country’s premier airport, given our past experience of pushing for Philippine aviation development,” AEDC president Salvador Mison said. 

AEDC said it would tap a foreign partner in bidding for the Naia project that aimed to “improve the operational efficiencies” of the four Naia terminals, both landside and airside, to meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

AEDC said it was confident it could provide viable solutions to Naia’s inter-terminal connectivity and traffic congestion in the area.

AEDC’s foreign partner is expected to provide the technical expertise in its long-term proposal.

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AEDC was a consortium formed by taipans during the Ramos administration to build Naia Terminal 3. In 1993, former president Fidel Ramos invited Tan, John Gokongwei, Andrew Gotianun, Henry Sy Sr., George Ty and Alfonso Yuchengco to form a consortium to build Terminal 3.

AEDC is now currently owned and controlled by the Lucio Tan Group. 

Other conglomerates  that expressed interest to join the Naia redevelopment project were Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp and  JG Summit Holdings Inc.

The Transportation Department said it expected to begin PPP procurement this month, with the bid submission for the project likely in August next year. 

The award and signing of the concession agreement is expected in September 2017. 

Under the Naia contract, the government will award a 15-year to 20-year concession to the private sector to improve safety and security, maximize capacity through “refreshed” infrastructure, improve passenger service standards in the existing gateway, operate and maintain Naia and its four terminals.

Naia already exceeded the 30 million passenger capacity as early as 2012.  A Japan International Cooperation Agency study showed the number of passengers using Naia would reach 101.49 million by 2040. 

Transportation Undersecretary for aviation and airports Robert Lim said Jica was finalizing the location for a proposed new airport that would replace Naia in Parañaque City.

Jica was looking at Sangley Point in Cavite and Laguna de Bay as potential sites for the new international airport.   He said the government had to decide the ideal location for the new airport by 2017.

The government wants to build a new international airport that is 25 to 30 minutes away from Naia, which is expected to hit overcapacity this year, when the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers.

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