THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) will still consider solicited proposals for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), in parallel with the unsolicited proposal submitted by a consortium of conglomerates.
“We are also open to a solicited proposal. The original plan is to have a solicited proposal, which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping us with. But since the conglomerates submitted their proposal, we have to work on it,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said during the Makati Business Club F2F with Cabinet Secretaries session on Wednesday.
On April 27, the DoTr said it received an unsolicited proposal worth P100 billion for the NAIA O&M from the Manila International Airport Consortium.
The consortium members are Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Alliance Global – Infracorp Development, Inc., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp., alongside — US fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners.
The DoTr and Manila International Airport Authority said they will review the proposal in accordance with the build-operate-transfer law and its implementing rules and regulations.
The unsolicited proposal’s valuation of the project includes the upfront payment to the government and committed investments in new airport facilities and technology.
The expansion and modernization of the airport is one of the priority projects of the DoTr with the ADB serving as advisor, according to Mr. Bautista.
“I have formed a dedicated team to work on this because I think this is a priority project,” said Mr. Bautista. “ADB will make the recommendation. But it is really the DoTr who will finalize the terms of reference. ADB will make recommendations as they are our advisors.”
According to Mr. Bautista, the DoTr has 35 days to check the completeness of the consortium’s submission, and expects the review to finish by June.
“It does not mean that what was submitted by the consortium is what we will accept. There will be negotiations on the terms,” he said.
“We can also consider the recommendation of ADB. … But I’m sure that we will be able to use the recommendations of ADB in evaluating the proposal of the consortium,” he added.
Aside from the unsolicited proposal for NAIA, Mr. Bautista said the department is also meeting with potential project proponents for other airports. — Justine Irish D. Tabile