Business opportunities in the aviation sector in the Philippines could pick up again this year, according to the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), given government initiatives to continue the expansion and construction of major gateways in the country.
A CAPA report on airport privatization in 2020 and prospects for 2021 said, “In both Indonesia and the Philippines, investor opportunities in the sector could pick up again in 2021.”
However, the operation of four airports near Metro Manila would lead to competition which would make it challenging for all these airports to be profitable.
“In (the Philippines), there may simply be too many airports in and around Manila for them all to be profitable,” CAPA noted.
At present, four airports near Metro Manila are under construction, expansion and rehabilitation: Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport, Sangley International Airport in Cavite and the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) in Bulacan.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has started construction works for the P735-billion NMIA project in Bulacan last year and this is expected to be operational by 2025.
For NAIA, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has yet to decide if it will reverse the revocation of Megawide Construction Corp.’s original proponent status (OPS) to pursue the rehabilitation and expansion of the airport.
Megawide and GMR Infrastructure Ltd. filed an appeal to MIAA for the restoration of the OPS.
However, two firms also submitted an offer for NAIA: SMC which proposed a 10-year contract to operate NAIA and the Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc.
The provincial government of Cavite also intends to finalize the joint venture agreement with MacroAsia Corp. and China Communications Construction Co. to pursue the construction of the international airport in Sangley.
The parties have received extension from the Cavite government to complete the post-qualification requirements for their bid. The facility will initially handle small commercial aircraft — a move also aimed at reducing capacity constraints at NAIA.
Meanwhile, Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp., operator of Clark International Airport, is set to start the operation of its new passenger terminal this month.
The new passenger terminal building is projected to increase Clark airport’s current operational capacity of 4.2 million passengers to 12.2 million annually.
The airport is also seen to accelerate economic progress in Central Luzon, and will provide an array of opportunities for job generation and more rapid tourism and socio-economic pursuits in the entire region, and the rest of its neighboring cities. (M. Iglesias)
