Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. and Mega7 Construction Corp. may soon receive the original proponent statuses (OPS) for their separate unsolicited proposals to develop and expand the Davao and Kalibo airports, as the transportation department approaches the tail end of its review process for the offers.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Manuel Tamayo said the government is just waiting for Chelsea, a company controlled by businessman Dennis A. Uy, to sign an ad referendum to finalize the process.
“Basically, it has been approved. There is just an ad referendum that has to be signed. Once signed, we can grant them the original proponent status,” he said.
Tamayo added there are some “clarifications” on the “interpretation” of the rules set under the build-operate-transfer law, which basically spells out the provisions on unsolicited proposals.
Transportation Director for Communication Goddes Hope O. Libiran confirmed this, adding there is now a board resolution for the granting of OPS to Chelsea and Mega7.
She said the resolution is now being circulated to members of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) board for signature and concurrence.
“Please note that the DOTr and Caap have no technical objections on the unsolicited proposals. They were both presented to the Caap board for the grant of the OPS,” she said.
She noted it is the Caap that “ultimately decides whether a proponent is given an OPS.”
“We’re still waiting for one more signature from the Caap Board for the grant of the OPS. Anytime we secure the one signature, we will be ready to grant the OPS both to the Davao and Kalibo proponents,” she said.
Resubmitted earlier this year, Chelsea’s airport proposal involves the development of the Davao International Airport to meet the projected 15 million annual passenger volume by 2050.
Mega7’s offer, rejected due to lack of information earlier this year, entails the development of the Kalibo International Airport.
Both proponents and the transportation department have yet to make public specifics of the unsolicited offers.
Unsolicited proposals, under the law, have to go through several approvals process from the implementing agency and the attached bodies under the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
They will also be subjected to a Swiss challenge, a process that allows other groups to submit offers superior to the original proposal. The original proponent will then have the right to match or submit a counteroffer to win the contract.