The cancellation of the original proponent status (OPS) of Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure, the second private proponent for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport rehabilitation project, will dampen investor and private sector confidence in working with the government public private partnership (PPP) projects, Infrawatch said.
The think tank said the public should not expect the country’s premiere international airport to be rehabilitated anytime soon.
“Unless the transport department reconsiders, we can all say goodbye to a better NAIA.
The congestion and poor service are all here to stay until the end of the President’s term.
This will diminish the legacy of the President, especially since this has been among his priority projects,” Infrawatch said.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has informed the project proponent of the revocation of their OPS in a letter dated December 15, 2020, without citing reasons for the collapse of the P109-billion project proposal.
The Department of Transportation and MIAA could not be reached for comment.
“The public expectation was for DoTr and the private proponent to jointly resolve issues raised by the NEDA-ICC (National Economic Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee), particularly concerns over the proponents debt-equity ratio, as the rehabilitation project is a joint undertaking by both public and private sectors. How the transportation department reached a unilateral decision rescinding the OPS clearly shows bad faith and utter incompetence in undertaking PPP projects,” Infrawatch said.
