MacroAsia, Chinese partner bag Sangley airport deal

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. and its partner China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC) bagged the P208.5-billion contract to develop the Sangley airport into an international gateway.

MacroAsia told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday that it received a notice of award from the provincial government of Cavite for the Sangley Point International Airport project.

The consortium was awarded the development and implementation of Phase 1 of the massive airport project which has an estimated project cost of P208.5 billion.

From the signing of the joint venture development agreement, MacroAsia said it would take 12 to 18 months to complete the detailed engineering design leading to financial closing.

The MacroAsia-CCCC team submitted last Dec. 17 the sole bid for the Sangley International Airport project which is being implemented as a local government public-private partnership joint venture by the provincial government of Cavite.

The PPP-selection committee said the review took time to complete as the proposal underwent “careful and rigorous” evaluation.

MacroAsia earlier said its expertise in the local aviation industry and its Chinese partner’s global experience in international airport development and reclamation make them “the best joint venture partner for the provincial government of Cavite.” 

As part of the Lucio Tan conglomerate and as an affiliate of Philippine Airlines, MacroAsia said it would bring to the project its comprehensive expertise and best practices in developing and operating key operating functions in an airport.

CCCC, a state-owned construction firm in China, is engaged in investment, design and construction of transportation infrastructure, with experience in both airport and reclamation projects.

CCCC was previously debarred by the World Bank due to alleged fraudulent practices by one of its subsidiaries, China Road and Bridge Corp., with sanctions extending to the entire group under CCCC and all its affiliate companies worldwide. 

The debarment was lifted in Jan. 2017 and CCCC has since been allowed to participate in all World Bank Group-financed tenders.

The $10 billion Sangley Point International Airport project is seen as a 1,500-hectare master-planned international airport hub that will feature four runways, airside and landside facilities, and can accommodate up to 130 million passengers annually.