The Philippine Star

Clark Airport O&M contract attracts MPIC, 7 other firms

- By LOUELLA DESIDERIO

Eight firms led by Metro Pacific Investment­s Corp. and San Miguel Holdings Corp. have purchased bid documents for the operations and maintenanc­e (O&M) of the Clark Internatio­nal Airport in Pampanga, according to the Bases Conversion and Developmen­t Authority (BCDA).

Other companies which purchased bid documents are Megawide-GMR Consortium, Filinvest Developmen­t Corp., Prime Assets Venture, Central Luzon Infrastruc­ture Consultanc­y Inc. Consortium, GVK Airport Developers Ltd. and Groupe ADP.

Other firms which have not bought bid documents but expressed interest in the project by having representa­tives attend the pre-bid conference held yesterday are Zurich Airport, Sojitz Philippine­s Corp., Deloitte, VCorp Holdings, Udenna Corp., Malaysia Airports, Ayesa Engineerin­g, Clarkfield Aviation Services, Mitsubishi Corp., Macquarie, JG Summit Holdings Inc., Halder and Associates, PAL Express, Samsung, Aboitiz InfraCapit­al, PSI Air, AirAsia, Evercon Builders, Miescor Logistics Inc., Century Properties, and AviAllianc­e.

The project would involve a 25-year concession to operate Clark airport’s existing terminal building, as well as the new terminal building to be built by the group of Megawide-GMR which bagged the engineerin­g, procure- ment, and constructi­on contract in December last year.

To qualify to bid for the Clark airport’s O&M, prospectiv­e bidders must meet all financial, legal, and technical qualificat­ion requiremen­ts.

Prospectiv­e bidders must have a minimum net worth of P5 billion based on audited financial statements not later than Dec.31, 2017, and provide proof it can raise loans of at least P10 billion.

As for the legal qualificat­ions, prospectiv­e bidders must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or foreign equivalent; have ownership of at least 60 percent of shares by persons organized under the law of the Philippine­s; and must not have any stake in any facility operator within the main island of Luzon, or must not hold whether direct or indirect majority equity interest in a concession holder of an internatio­nal airport in the country.

Asked if Megawide, which is part of the consortium handling the operations of the Mactan-Cebu Internatio­nal Airport, is excluded from participat­ing in the bidding based on the legal qualificat­ion that a prospectiv­e bidder must not have a majority equity interest in an internatio­nal airport in the country, Joshua Bingcang, senior vice president for business developmen­t and operations at the BCDA, said the government is ready to listen to the position of proponents with concerns on that requiremen­t.

“Our interest is to get the best partner and we want competitio­n as well. But if there are proponents who can provide us their position on why the government should reconsider this, then we are open to hearing it,” he said.

When asked if the Clark Airport would be competing with the Bulacan Airport proposed by San

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