The battle for NAIA

WHEN Yosemite Sam, the heavily bearded antagonist of Bugs Bunny grew tired of trying to beat his archenemy, he finally heaved a sigh of frustration and said, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” 

And then he marched up the hill to the beat of Bugs Bunny’s drums.  

In real life, it may be the other way around - - just ask the dapper boys of Megawide, who may now be humming, “if you can’t join them, beat them.” 

Megawide, who is not part of the super consortium of conglomerates vying for the redevelopment of the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), will go against these mammoth companies instead. It has partnered with state-run Social Security System (SSS). 

The super consortium must have been caught by surprise. They probably didn’t expect anyone would go against them. They are after all, giants owned by the country’s most powerful tycoons. 

 And one of the reasons they banded together is to make sure that they would not be competing against each other. Their only possible competitor, Ramon “RSA” Ang, already has his eyes set on his Bulacan airport proposal.

 Then here comes Megawide, which whether tycoons like it or not, has a track record of beating giants.

 The engineering and construction conglomerate did it in Cebu in 2014 when it beat the same Goliaths they will be up against in the battle for NAIA. These include the Ayala and Aboitiz Groups, Gokongwei’s JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc.  

Filinvest, the second highest bidder for the Mactan airport, even sought the disqualification of Megawide for alleged conflict of interest, but did not succeed.

 And because Filinvest is part of the NAIA consortium, it’s no wonder that Megawide is not.   

Megawide isn’t promising anything grand. They simply said they would make NAIA an efficient airport at reasonable costs.  

Oh, and they’re thinking of putting up a special lane for SSS members. How about discounted terminal fee for SSS members? Megawide chairman Edgar Saavedra burst into laughter when asked about this.  

They weren’t supposed to reveal their plan yet but SSS chairman Amado Valdez couldn’t contain his excitement and announced it last week in a joint press briefing of SSS and Megawide officials. 

When Valdez revealed the NAIA bid, Saavedra literally had to nudge him under the table. 

“I have to stop now because Edgar is kicking me,” Valdez said in jest. 

I can understand why Megawide wanted to keep quiet first. It’s going to be a tough battle, if not a major gamble for the young company. 

The battle, or should I say the beauty contest, has just begun.  

In the end, whoever wins, I hope NAIA truly becomes a better airport. Terminal 1 is already among the best in terms of layout, designed by no less than National Artist Leandro Locsin.  

Whoever gets NAIA should certainly make it better. The real test is when the more senior citizens, PWDs or unaccompanied minors can find their way through without much help.  

The only reason I was able to travel a lot at a young age is that I had to help my grandmother navigate her way through NAIA because she found it too disorienting.

 In my ideal airport, operations must be seamless. Security procedures should be swift and check-in, flawless.  Long queues are normal, but they should move fast. Most of all, flights should take off and land on schedule.  

But efficiency is very basic. Being the best will require more than that. And it’s not even about being a beautiful airport. It’s really about being humane.  Clean restrooms with toilet paper, no wet floors, a shower room with enough space for all your luggage while you take a quick bath, dining options with healthy food, free wifi and because I often travel with a smoker, a smoking room that isn’t too far away.

One of my favorite airports, Changi, voted as the world’s best, has a napping area with Lazy Boy-like seats that have alarm clocks. It also has charging stations with little lockable boxes so you can leave your gadgets while you roam the terminal.  

So whoever wins the battle for NAIA should remember to turn it into an efficient gateway with humane conditions. 

Megawide’s break-up

 Speaking of Megawide, Saavedra has once and for all doused cold water on speculations that he and Megawide co-founder Michael Cosiquien’s business partnership has turned sour.  

He said Cosiquien’s decision to divest his shares in the company is really because he just wants to focus on the family’s cold storage business.  

They’re still very much in cahoots, or so Edgar says. They still see each other often and soon, they would be traveling to Siargao to surf and find properties for personal investments.

Aseana’ security men

What’s happening at Aseana City? Some locators at the Entertainment City are complaining about the potholes that have started appearing because of the heavy trucks passing amid all the ongoing developments there. Some took it upon themselves to fix the road but Aseana’s arrogant security men are preventing them from doing so, sources said. 

Iris Gonzales e-mail address is [email protected]