UPGRADING and modernizing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) could generate “inclusive and significant economic growth,” an official of Naia Consortium said on Tuesday, as it renews its pitch to develop the decades-old facility that is currently overutilized but underdeveloped.
Naia Consortium Spokesman Jose Emmanuel P. Reverente said a more efficient airport can help drive a country’s GDP growth, citing a 2014 study conducted by Oxford Economics and the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
“If there is one single economic catalyst that carries so much punch, it is the Naia. That we are an archipelago endowed with natural beauty makes the Naia even more important,” he said on Tuesday.
According to the study, the local aviation sector contributed 3.2 percent, or more than $9 billion, of the country’s 2014 GDP and generated a total of 1.2 million jobs.
From then, the aviation sector has grown larger, and the Naia’s operations became more constrained as more and more passengers use the airport every year.
There were 38.8 million passengers who used the Naia in 2014. After only three years, it handled 42 million passengers thanks to efforts to boost tourism in the Philippines.
For 2018 the airport is seen to accommodate 44 million passengers, way above its 35-million passenger rated capacity.
“In all those years, the Naia’s terminal capacity remained constrained at 31 million. If we want air transport to create more economic wealth and generate more jobs, we have to expand, upgrade and improve the Naia now, not later,” he said. Given this, Reverente warned that, without improving the Naia, the airport will become another burden to the common Filipino, much like Edsa. “Time is running out to prevent the Naia from becoming the next Edsa.” The Oxford-Iata study also noted that of the 1.2 million jobs generated in 2014, close to a million came from tourism.
“Clearly, Naia is a lifeline for the countryside. Tourism is one of the ways the government can achieve its goal of making the country’s growth more inclusive. The bigger and better Naia is, the better for everybody all over the country,” he said.
Naia Consortium’s P350-billion unsolicited proposal involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of the Naia, upgrading airside facilities and the development of commercial facilities. Divided into two phases, the group’s proposal aims to increase the capacity of the Naia to about 100 million passengers per year. It also plans to construct a people mover that will link the Naia’s terminals to existing transport systems in Metro Manila.
Actual work will take 24 more months for the first wave of immediate expansion. Further expansions are planned to meet projected passenger demand moving forward.
More expansion will follow to meet the expected growth in tourism, business and the economy. In 2017 the four Naia terminals, designed to handle only 31 million, accommodated 42 million. The offer carries a concession period of 35 years.
Very urgent
Reverente noted, however, that to enable the consortium to deliver, it must get the notice to proceed from the government by late this year.
“The Naia is a must-solve-now challenge. The country cannot wait. We hope the government can expedite the approval process so we can start rebuilding our gateway and giving passengers an experience they only enjoy when abroad,” he added.
Due to their nature, unsolicited proposals are required under law to go through several approval processes, including a review from the implementing agency and an evaluation from the several bodies of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Under current rules, unsolicited proposals are also required to undergo a Swiss challenge, which essentially allows other groups to outbid the original proponent of the project.
The original proponent, however, has the option to submit a counteroffer to win the challenge.
The winner of the challenge will be determined after the Neda Board, currently chaired by President Duterte, evaluates the challenger’s offer and the original proponent’s counteroffer.
Hence, the process could go for as quick as six months to over a year, and as long as almost a decade, as in some cases in the past.
The group, 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., submitted its bid in February.
Aside from tourism, Reverente said the Naia is the “portal through which investors and exports like electronics and manufacturing pass.” The same Oxford study showed that in 2014, the country exported $82.2 billion worth of goods and services.
The Naia, he said, is “at the heart of the country’s economic action” and so close to most industrial estates that it must be considered a national economic asset that needs immediate remedial attention.
Image credits: CNN Philippines