Clark airport dev’t opened up to bidders

THE government has started to invite parties to bid for the P12.55-billion Clark International Airport Terminal, the first project to fall under the government’s hybrid public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

In a statement, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in cooperation with the Department of Transportation said it is inviting interested parties to qualify and bid for the project, which includes the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the design, engineering, and construction of airport facilities, as well as the development of a new passenger terminal.

The BCDA said that both local and foreign parties are allowed to bid. The invitation to pre-qualify and bid can be purchased for a non-refundable fee of one million pesos.

Clark International Airport is located in the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, around two to three hours away from Metro Manila. The new terminal is expected to be completed by 2019, and will consist of an 82,600-square meter terminal building that can accommodate eight million passengers annually. This is almost twice the terminal’s current capacity of 4.2 million passengers.

Clark airport is being tapped by the government to be an alternative gateway in order to decongest Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which accommodated over 39.5 million passengers in 2016, way above its capacity of 30.5 million.

The expansion project will be financed through a mix of off icial development assistance, state funding, and PPPs. This scheme also means that the government will be in charge of building the facility, after which it will be turned over to the private sector for maintenance and operation.

The BCDA earlier stated that this scheme could lower costs compared to when a private proponent builds and operates the facility.

A number of firms submitted unsolicited proposals to develop Clark, amid the government’s statement of intent to build the project on its own and then bid out the operation and management (O&M) to private companies.

Among the companies that submitted proposals were Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Megawide Construction Corp. with its partner, Bangalore-based airport operator GMR Infrastructure Ltd., the Gotianun-led Filinvest group and JG Summit Holdings, Inc.

Meanwhile, bidding for O&M will also be conducted within the year, with the government saying that the operator of the project will need to provide input on the design and construction. —