MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. and partner GMR Infrastructure Ltd. have officially filed a motion for reconsideration to overturn the revocation of their original proponent status (OPS) for their P109-billion proposal to redevelop the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
Signed by authorized representative Louie B. Ferrer, the motion for reconsideration underscored the group’s need for “equal treatment,” as they viewed the revocation of the OPS as a decision made hastily, when compared to the two-year negotiation that the government had with the first proponent of the same project.
“We respectfully point out as well that since the government had negotiated with the earlier proponents—otherwise known as the Super Consortium—for two years, it would be in keeping with good practice and fair play for us to be also afforded a reasonable period within which to negotiate with the government and submit all the necessary documents to show our capabilities,” the motion read.
The Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) issued the OPS to Megawide in July 2020, a few weeks since Super Consortium backed out of the project due to commercially unviable government demands. The proposal was then reviewed by the Miaa, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
The Neda’s Investment
Coordination Council found later on that Megawide was supposedly incapable of funding the equity portion of the proposal, a finding that is contrary to Megawide’s interpretation of the rules and regulations of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.
Megawide then submitted various documents that support its claim that it can fund the project through its partnership with GMR, as well as the issuance of preferred shares to raise fresh capital for the airport project.
The consortium submitted these, including other requirements like a joint solidary agreement, on November 20 and December 1. The OPS of Megawide was revoked on December 15, after a December 4 meeting that based the revocation on the Neda’s earlier findings.
During a Senate hearing, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the consortium may file an appeal before the Miaa board, which will soon convene to discuss the merits of the motion for reconsideration.
“In view of the foregoing, Megawide GMR Consortium is hereby respectfully requesting for the reconsideration of the Miaa Board resolution revoking Megawide GMR Consortium’s OPS for the Naia Project, and pray for the reinstatement of such OPS,” the motion for reconsideration read.
As this developed, advocacy group The Passenger Forum (TPF) has asked the Miaa board to meet “in the soonest possible time” to evaluate the merits of the consortium’s plea.
“It is in the interest of passengers to ensure that the Naia rehabilitation project will push through in the soonest possible time. We just hope that Megawide’s submissions are sufficient to prove they are qualified in rehabilitating our primary international gateway,” TPF Convenor Primo Morillo said.
Megawide has proposed to implement the P109-billion project in three phases.
The first phase includes the immediate improvement of the airside and landside segments of Naia through the improvements of the existing terminal and the optimization of the existing runways.
The second phase involves the construction of a new passenger terminal building and the improvements of the apron and taxi lane to provide access to the new terminal. The group will also relocate the cargo terminal and the fuel farm to accommodate the new terminal building.
The last phase will see the group building a rail-people mover system that will allow passengers to move from one terminal to another through an overhead railway system.
2 other proposals
Should Megawide fail to win this appeal, the government has two more unsolicited proposals for the Naia lined up: one from Philippine Airports and Ground Services Inc. and another from San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
Reportedly, SMC President Ramon S. Ang said his group’s proposal was purely for the operations and maintenance of the old airport, and does not include construction works, as his group intends to make the airport closed in a decade, when the Bulacan International Airport will be opened for commercial use. SMC is developing the said airport.
Think tank Infrawatch Philippines Convenor Terry Ridon warned the government to only consider proposals for Naia that include the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the air hub, and not those that are purely for the operations and maintenance of the aiprort.
“Regardless of project proponent or proposal, there should be no doubt that what Naia needs today is rehabilitation of a massive scale, befitting its status as the country’s premier international airport. Any talk of anything less, such as mere operations and maintenance proposals, should be outrightly dismissed as irrelevant and contrary to the vision of the President for a multi-airport strategy for the Greater Capital Region,” he said.
Ridon added that mere operations and maintenance proposals from the private sector contravene government’s Naia rehabilitation plans.
“Miaa should reject O&M proposals from the private sector, because aside from not bringing anything new to the table, it will not transform Naia into a world-class airport all Filipinos can pride themselves in. More importantly, any O&M proposal will only duplicate the already good work the agency has been undertaking in operating the airport, despite no government funding and reliant only on internally generated income,” he said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes