DOTr OKs original proponent status for NAIA Consortium

CLARK, Pampanga – The group of the country’s seven conglomerates which offered to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is poised to secure original proponent status (OPS) for its proposal following a recommendation made by the Department of Transportation.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a briefing yesterday that the department has recommended the grant of OPS to the NAIA Consortium composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

“There is a decision and paper from our planning department which says to give OPS to the NAIA Consortium. That recommendation we have given to the MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) because they are the primary agency,” he said.

Tugade said DOTr’s recommendation is not yet final and MIAA’s board of directors would have to approve it. MIAA general manager Ed Monreal

said they have received the endorsement from the DOTr and it would be tackled during the board of directors’ meeting tomorrow.

The grant of OPS to the NAIA Consortium would give the group the right to match offers from other parties when a Swiss challenge is conducted for the project.

The NAIA Consortium initially offered to spend P350 billion for the NAIA’s upgrade for a concession period of 35 years under the proposal submitted to the DOTr on Feb.12.

Under the proposal, the upgrade would be undertaken in phases, with Phase 1 covering improvements and expanding the terminals in the current land area to bring annual capacity to 65 million passengers, and Phase 2 involving building an additional runway, taxiways, passenger terminals and associated support infrastructure. There was also an option to build a third runway.