TWO administration lawmakers yesterday urged the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTR) to heed the advice of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to extend by one month the bidding for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation project to ensure due diligence and avoid a monopoly.
“The ADB is an expert in this kind of projects. We hope that their call for a deadline extension of the submission of bids will be taken into consideration. It’ll be better to give the DOTR more options in choosing the most qualified to carry out the project. A huge amount is at stake, due diligence is a must,” said Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano, chairperson of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development.
Rep. Marissa Magsino (PL, OFW) said a one-month delay in the bidding for the project “will be more beneficial.”
“If extending the deadline for proposals on these plans will allow the government to choose from more reputable companies and secure the most cost-effective agreement, then the one-month delay eventually will be more beneficial,” Magsino said.
“The only thing we want to ensure in whatever decision the government will make is that the people will not be shortchanged; the option we will take must vastly improve the services of NAIA, solve capacity issues, upgrade the technology infrastructure, and ensure steady and reliable operation for the benefit of air passengers, especially our OFWs,” she added.
Magsino said the DOTR leadership “must seriously consider the proposal and heed the clamor from stakeholders and government leaders to have the deadline extended.”
“We believe the leadership of the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport Authority, in coordination with the National Economic Development Authority, have exhaustively studied the pros and cons of the rehabilitation and expansion of NAIA through concession agreements, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of privatized operations for our international airports. Lastly, we hope the winning proposal will not result in higher terminal fees for air passengers. The government must retain its authority in the pricing of fees,” she also said.
The lawmakers said that if the December 27 deadline is followed, the DOTR could only be accused of favoring only two prospective bidders that have submitted unsolicited proposals for the project.
In an internal memo previously leaked to the media, the ADB proposed that the bidding be extended from December 27, 2023 to January 29, 2024 to allow potential bidders more time to prepare and participate. The ADB memo noted that at least four more bidders for the project are seeking the extension.
The ADB said that increased competition will ensure better financial outcome for the government.
If the December 27 deadline pushes through, the bank said only two bidders may submit the required bid documents.
“We strongly believe that extending the bid submission date would attract more bids, thus resulting in greater competition and a better financial outcome for the government… It would also send a strong statement that the government is committed to ensuring a level playing field for all investors, now that recent reforms allow local and foreign investors to compete for NAIA on the same terms, without foreign ownership restrictions,” the ADB said.
Eight firms have already bought bid documents for the project: Asian Airport Consortium, Turkish firm Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corp., India’s GMR Group, Turkish conglomerate Limak Holding A.S., Manila International Airport Consortium, San Miguel Corp., and Spark 888 Management Inc.
The DOTR and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) began the bidding process for the contract involving the rehabilitation, expansion, and operation of NAIA last August to address long-standing capacity issues by increasing the airport’s annual capacity to at least 62 million passengers from the current 35 million.
