Mega consortium bids for NAIA rehab

Seven of the country’s top conglomerates have formalized their bid to rehabilitate, operate, and maintain the sprawling Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), covering four terminals, through an unsolicited proposal which it plans to submit to the Department of Transportation.

In several disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the conglomerates said they have agreed to form a consortium composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., the Ayala group’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group, Inc., Lucio Tan’s Asia’s Emerging Dragons Corporation, the Gotianun’s Filinvest Development Corporation, the Gokongwei’s JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation. Noteworthy is the absence of San Miguel Corporation, one of the country’s most aggressive infrastructure companies, in the consortium. SMC is proposing the construction of a new international airport in Bulacan.

“Numerous foreign and local experts have highlighted the advantage of keeping an airport within city limits. Like other major cities in the world, experts recommend an in-city airport and another one outside the metropolis to complement it,” the consortium said.

It added that, “Megacities that benefit from a two-airport set-up include Tokyo (Haneda and Narita) and London (Gatwick and Heathrow).”

The consortium believes that the NAIA will continue to be a strategic gateway for the country and a key hub of airline operations for many more years. MPIC said the said that discussions are still ongoing with reference to the details of the proposal.

The sprawling NAIA complex is comprised of four terminals – including the domestic terminal (Terminal 4) -- located in Pasay and Paranaque cities. Aboitiz said the consortium intends to cover the four terminals.

It noted that “the consortium will work with foreign technical partners with proven world class track records and experiences in airport operations to improve, upgrade, and enhance the operational efficiencies of NAIA covering both landside and airside facilities.”

The consortium explained that, “given proper upgrades and strategic improvements, NAIA can easily accommodate an additional 11 million passengers annually from the current 39.5 million passengers, and can increase its hourly aircraft movements (landing and take-off) from 40 movements per hour to 48 movements per hour.”

“The unsolicited proposal is intended to help accelerate the government’s ‘Build Build Build’ program. Augmenting NAIA’s capacity is the quickest way to address airport congestion while other airports are being developed outside Metro Manila,” it said.

The consortium believes that “this approach promotes greater economic benefit and sustainability for the whole country.” The terms of the Memorandum of Understanding or framework of the consortium are still under negotiation.