AT least six groups are interested in the ₱170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) deal and, with more organizations and companies joining the pre-bid conference on Friday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is expecting more participants in the auction.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said six groups have so far bought bid documents for the auction: GMR Airports International, San Miguel Holdings Corp., Manila International Airport Consortium, Spark 888 Management, Asian Airport Consortium and Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
Representatives from other groups such as Hyundai Engineering, Itochu Group, Makati Development Corp., Marsh Philippines, Mitsubishi Group, Pulse Consulting, EY Consulting, Samsung C&T Group, Turner and Townsend, Aeon, Cavitex, Bouygues Group, China First Highway Engineering, First Balfour, and Macquarie Capital, among others, participated in the pre-bid conference.
“We are very happy with the turnout,” Bautista said. “We are expecting them to participate in the bidding and we’re hoping that some other interested parties will also join the bidding process.”
The winning concessionaire shall sign a Rehabilitate-Operate-Expand-Transfer (ROET) deal with the DOTr and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).
Under the initial terms of reference for the deal, the winning consortium shall provide an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government as premium and another P2 billion in annuity payments.
It is also required to remit a certain percentage of the revenues to the government. This will be the main bid parameter for the auction—the higher the proposed share of the government in the Naia’s revenues are, the better.
The concession was initially set for 15 years with an option to extend by 10 years as long as the concessionaire is “not in flagrant violation of the concession agreement.”
Certain key performance indicators, according to the Transportation Undersecretary Timothy Batan, shall determine whether the concessionaire is entitled to have its contract extended.
Bidders have until December 27 to submit their bids.
Bautista said the government aims to award the contract as early as January 27. However, he noted that the government “welcomes” suggestions of extension and is willing to “assist” bidders to help them meet the deadline.
“We are open to suggestions and recommendations from the bidders. We want to know what their concerns are and how we can help them meet the deadline of December 27. We are happy to listen to their suggestions and recommendations,” he said.
The Naia PPP seeks to rehabilitate and expand the current three-terminal gateway in Manila. Once completed, its capacity shall be expanded from 35 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to 62 MPPA.
The concessionaire shall also rehabilitate and upgrade the passenger terminals, commercial assets, surface access facilities, and modernize the communications, navigation, and surveillance systems of the airport.
It is also required to provide a connection at the Naia Terminal 3 to the Metro Manila Subway, deploy buses for boarding transfers, and improve the baggage handling systems.
Image credits: Michael Edwards | Dreamstime.com
