The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is projected to return to the pre-pandemic revenue level of P15 billion by yearend, just in time for the turnover of its operation and maintenance to the winning bidder by the first quarter of next year.
Bryan Co, officer-in-charge general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority said as of June, NAIA reported revenues of P7.2 billion.
Co said domestic and international passenger volume has reached over 30 million as of August and is projected this year to exceed the 47.7 million passengers recorded in 2019.
NAIA’s revenue is expected to grow further once the new operator takes over next year as the airport’s passenger capacity will be increased.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista said at the pre-bid conference last Friday the DOTr is pursuing the development of NAIA to increase its capacity to accommodate more flights and passengers, as well as enhance airport security and efficiency while attracting a constant flow of revenue streams.
Aside from the P30 billion upfront payment and the P2 billion fixed annual payment to the government, the concessionaire that will submit the highest percentage of revenue share to the government will be declared the winning bidder by the first quarter of next year, according to DOTr.
The winning bidder is expected to generate revenues from aeronautical services, which include a passenger service charge for international and domestic passengers, landing and take off, tacking, aircraft parking, cargo and check-in counter charges; and for non-aeronautical revenues, which include commercial lease rental, parking, advertising, retail and food and beverage as well as other identified commercial revenues.
As of September 22, six companies have bought bid documents for the airport’s privatization.
These are GMR, San Miguel Corp., the Manila International Airport Consortium, SPARC 888, Asian Airport Consortium, and IGA of Turkey.
Bautista said the DOTr expects the firms to participate during the bidding.
Under the NAIA public-private partnership concessionaire agreement, the winning bidder will be given 15 years to rehabilitate the airport’s passenger terminals and airside facilities; develop commercial assets and utility systems; and provide surface access facilities that enable intermodal transfer at the airport, inter-terminal passenger transfer facilities and services, among others.
In extending the agreement for another 10 years, the DOTr will discuss with the concessionaire a possible extension on the eighth year of the contract based on several key performance indicators (KPI), said Timothy John Batan, DOTr undersecretary for planning.
“The extension will be conducted or the discussion will be on year 8. The extension is based on performance by the winning bidder, based on certain KPIs,” Batan said.
If the concessionaire fails to fulfill one of the conditions set under the KPIs, the DOTr will not grant an extension for another 10 years, he added.
“If there is a flagrant violation of the concession, there will be no extension. But if there is no flagrant violation, there will be an extension,” he said.
Among possible KPIs mentioned by Batan are the KPIs for Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Clark International Airport, including the amount of time for check-in and for immigration and security checks.
Meanwhile, NAIA has established itself as one of the most internationally connected airports in the world. Known by its International Air Transport Association code MNL, it ranked 15th in the top 50 global airport mega hubs and secured the third spot in the top 25 low-cost carrier airport megahubs.
According to the 2023 Megahubs Index by OAG, a leading provider of digital flight information, intelligence and analytics for airports, MNL has climbed from 29th place in 2019 to 15th place this year in terms of international connectivity.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines emerged as the dominant air carrier with a 32 percent share of flights.
In this list, led by the United Kingdom’s London Heathrow Airport, MNL also ranked sixth among the top international megahubs in the Asia Pacific region, following KUL (Malaysia), HND (Japan), ICN (Republic of Korea), BKK (Thailand) and SIN (Singapore). –
