AT least two of the four parties that submitted unsolicited proposals for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) have signified their interest in supporting the government in its bid to bring the country’s premier airport back to its glory days.
Megawide Construction Corp. Executive Director for Infrastructure Development Louie B. Ferrer said the group, which modernized both the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Clark International Airport, will look at the terms the government will lay out for the rehabilitation project.
“We are committed to assisting the infrastructure build-up. Our goal is to engineer a first-world Philippines and we will do so starting with our projects,” Ferrer said in a text message. “We’ll wait for the final directions of the government regarding this project and infra projects in general so we understand how to best support their vision.”
For his part, San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang confirmed that the group, which is currently building its aerocity in Bulacan, is also interested in the deal.
“Yes, we’ll join all government bidding,” he said in a text message.
Members of the old 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.—and the representatives from the Philippine Airports and Ground Services Inc. have yet to reply to the BusinessMirror’s request for comment.
Metro Pacific previously tapped out of the consortium due to commercial issues.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista on Saturday said the government plans to revive the rehabilitation project for Naia, noting that it might consider Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as its funding modality.
Public policy think tank Infrawatch Convener Terry L. Ridon believes that redeveloping Naia is a crucial component of the government’s multi-airport strategy.
“I think the long-term strategy is to still proceed with the multi-airport strategy and the development of Naia remains a major pillar in it,” he said in a phone interview.
He said their group supports this initiative and believes that PPP is the way to move forward with the project, given the “limited fiscal space of the government.”
To recall, the Duterte government decided to discontinue the project, after halting negotiations with the Naia Consortium, a group of seven Filipino conglomerates that banded together to submit a P102-billion unsolicited proposal for the rehab of the country’s main gateway.
Before this, the government revoked the original proponent status (OPS) of Megawide Construction Corp. and partner GMR Infrastructure Ltd. for their P109-billion Naia rehab unsolicited proposal.
Other groups that had forwarded their own versions of the Naia rehab proposals include the Philippine Airports and Ground Services Inc. and San Miguel Corp.
Image credits: Google Earth