The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board to decide by next quarter on which of the mode government will pursue in modernizing and upgrading the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA): the P141-billion solicited proposal of the DOTr and the Manila International Airport Authority or the over P100-billion unsolicited proposal of the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC).
Last week, the DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority submitted a solicited public-private partnership project involving a concession agreement that requires an investment of P141 billion, or P9.5 billion every year, for 15 years.
“We have not yet talked to anybody because we are waiting for the NEDA to give its approval so that we can prepare the comprehensive kit that will be available when we publish in the newspaper the notice for public bid for the concession of NAIA,” Roberto Lim, DOTr undersecretary, said in a virtual press briefing.
While waiting for the NEDA Board approval for NAIA’s solicited bid, Lim said the DOTr is evaluating MIAC’s unsolicited proposal that was submitted last April.
Lim said the DOTr has informed the consortium that its unsolicited proposal is complete and compliant with the Build-Operate-Transfer Law and the implementing rules and regulations.
“They submitted their proposal and we are starting to evaluate also, discuss and seek clarification. We are meeting them next week,” he said.
MIAC is composed of Alliance Global Group Inc., Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Infracorp Development Inc., Filinvest Development Corp. and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp. that teamed up with US-based Global Infrastructure Partners.
When asked about the mode of privatization for NAIA, Lim said: “We will coordinate with NEDA. We just submitted it (solicited proposal) and it’s still under evaluation, maybe (it will be completed) in a month or two,” Lim said.
“NEDA will also come up with the decision. There are broader issues involved, being discussed at the high level, (it is) not just DOTr (which) is involved,” he added.
However, if the DOTr gets the green light to pursue a solicited bid, it will start the process soon.
“If we get the approval of the NEDA, let’s say a month or a month and a half, let us say by September we can publish the invitation and those who want to participate can acquire the kit that will define what you need to do and what you need to submit,” Lim said, adding that hopefully, the selection of the winning bidder could happen by the first quarter of next year.
Lim noted the urgent need to expand NAIA as air passengers are expected to reach over 50 million by 2025.
He said NAIA, with four terminals, has a designed capacity of roughly 33 million passengers per year, but in 2019, it already reached nearly 48 million and is expected to accommodate 53 million passengers by 2025.
“We would want to introduce digitalization as part of the process of managing the airport like using biometrics in measuring and identifying the passengers, and the movement of the airports. There is a way now to process. We need to do it efficiently and smoothly so that there will be no inconvenience to the passengers,” Lim said.
The project aims to increase the capacity of NAIA and ensure safe operations while significantly improving the passenger experience at the airport through shorter waiting and processing times, more comfortable and modern facilities, and better connectivity between terminals.
To achieve these, the government will require a private concessionaire to invest in modern air traffic control equipment, to rehabilitate runways and taxiways, and to improve existing terminal facilities.
