ROUGHLY P350 billion—that’s the amount that a consortium of Filipino conglomerates are willing to spend to transform the country’s main international gateway into a premier global air hub free of land and airside congestion.
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 on Tuesday a P350-billion unsolicited proposal to the Department of Transportation to redevelop the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
Jose Emmanuel F. Reverente, the spokesman of the consortium, said the group has tagged Changi Airports International Pte. Ltd. to provide technical support in the areas of master planning, operations optimization and commercial development.
The proposal involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of the Naia, upgrading airside facilities and developing commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhance passenger comfort and experience and improve public perception of the Naia as the country’s premier international gateway.
The plan, Reverente added, is divided into two phases.
The first one involves the improvements and expansion of terminals in the current Naia land area. “For Phase 1, we expect to take the capacity of all the terminals to about 65 million passengers annually—double the capacity of the current airport. We expect that Phase 1 can be completed within 48 months,” Reverente said in a media briefing on Tuesday. Roughly P100 billion will be allocated for the first phase of the project—an amount divided equally among the members of the consortium.
The second phase, on the other hand, involves the development of an additional runway, taxiways, passenger terminals and associated support infrastructure.
“Phase 2 will still be in consultation with the government,” he explained. “We will work with the government to identify the most ideal location of the third runway.”
Toward the end of the second phase of the proposed program, the capacity of the Naia should reach the 100-million passenger mark.
He added that the proposal includes a people mover that would link all three terminals and connect the Naia to the existing mass-transport system in Metro Manila, as well as an option for a third runway.
Reverente floated the idea of connecting a railway from Naia to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, and Light Rail Transit Line 1.
This is not the only unsolicited proposal for the rehabilitation of the Naia, a decades-old airport infrastructure that has a 30-million passenger capacity with a perpendicular runway. Megawide Construction Corp., which operates, maintains and is currently expanding the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, also intends to undertake a similar project.
Louie B. Ferrer, who sits as president at GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., said his group is delighted to see another proposal for the redevelopment of the Naia, as this gives the government more choices for the deal.
“Megawide GMR intends to participate in the development and rehabilitation of Philippine airports and this still includes Naia. The government and the people now have the choice between a number of airport proposals and which ones offer the best value. This kind of competition is healthy for the infrastructure sector,” he replied, when sought for comment.
Reverente noted that his group finds the need for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Naia as urgent, given its current state.
“We’ve worked very hard to give a compelling proposal,” he said. “The message is clear: we need this, and we can get this done.”
He added that the upgrades will elevate the Naia to the level of major regional airports, such as Changi in Singapore and Suvarnabhumi in Bangkok, and will become a viable transit hub for the Asean region.
“Given the full support and commitment of each of the seven consortium members and the existing infrastructure already in place, the project implementation can be expedited. Immediate enhancements and capacity upgrades can be expected within a couple of years, followed by further expansion to be completed shortly after,” Reverente explained.
Image credits: CNN Philippines