NAIA-3 contract above board, says official

The executive director of the Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation (CCPSP), Noel Kintanar, vouched yesterday for the integrity of the contract awarded to the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCO) to operate the new NAIA International Passenger Terminal 3.

According to Kintanar, the build-operate- transfer (BOT) law assures transparency in the dealings between the government and the private sector proponent.

"There is no room for anomalies in contracts entered by the government with the private sector through the BOT law," Kintanar said.

He assured that "every project is given due diligence by the CCPSP, the national agency, and the National Economic Development Authority Investment Coordinating Council."

Kintanar explained that under the implementing rules and regulations of RA 7718, clear-cut processes are stated on how the government and the private sector proponent should go through its infrastructure development programs.

Kintanar described the controversies hounding the PIATCO contracts as "discords between contracting parties that are definitely answerable or repairable.

CCPSP is an agency under the Office of the President tasked to encourage private sector participation in the investment program of the government particularly in infrastructure development.

The $525-million NAIA IPT 3 which was awarded to PIATCO is already 45-percent complete and will be operational by the end of 2002.

It has a capacity of 13 million passengers per year and can handle 28 aircraft at any given time. – Marianne Go