Mayhem revives NAIA sale proposal

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista favors the proposal as he said last week that the Marcos administration has plans to privatize NAIA

The technical glitch and power outage that left at least 56,000 travelers stranded at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on New Year’s Day are enough reasons to revive proposals for the privatization of the country’s main airport.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista favors the proposal as he said last week that the Marcos administration has plans to privatize NAIA.

For several hours on Sunday, the country was virtually transformed into a “no-fly zone,” causing about 361 flights to and from Manila to be either canceled, diverted, or delayed.

The chaos, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, was caused by glitches in the air traffic navigation system and power outages.

Private firm to do rehab

DoTr concluded in 2022 with the news that the national government will push through with privatizing the NAIA’s rehabilitation.

Bautista said DoTr has been collaborating with the Asian Development Bank to draft the terms of reference for the planned privatization in a bid to welcome proposals in the first quarter of 2023.

This move would pave the way for reconfiguring and modernizing its facilities to decongest the country’s primary entry point and eliminate capacity issues.

The DoTr’s Libreng Sakay program is also being considered for the auction block to be sold to the private sector.

For several hours on Sunday, the country was virtually transformed into a ‘no-fly zone.’

Its last free ride on the 24/7 EDSA Bus Carousel on 31 December following the agency’s announcement that a private company would take over and maintain the service by the first half of 2023 once the agency completes the transfer to a qualified operator.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF AG&P GHASHA LNG vessel was built in Japan and is a moss-type containment ship with a capacity of around 138,000 cubic meters.