Aboitiz InfraCapital pushing through with regional airport bid

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. is sticking to its regional airport projects for now as the company said it was not interested to bid for the development of the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA), one of major airport projects in the country.

“We have always believed that airports will be the key to reviving the economy, but we will not be pursuing the Sangley Airport project,” Aboitiz InfraCapital president and CEO Cosette Canilao told The STAR.

The SPIA project is undergoing a second bidding after the provincial government of Cavite terminated the airport deal awarded to the consortium of Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. and China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. due to various deficiencies of the submission of requirements to conclude the joint venture agreement.

The Cavite government’s public-private partnership selection committee has decided to extend the deadline for the purchase of the project’s bid documents to May 14 from the original deadline of March 30 due to “written requests and in view of the recent ECQ status declaration in NCR Plus.”

Two companies have already bought the bid documents for the massive airport project.

Aboitiz InfraCapital, however, remains open for opportunities in the airport sector and is pushing through with its various unsolicited proposals despite ongoing challenges in the aviation sector.

“In the face of the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the air travel and airport business, Aboitiz InfraCapital remains keen on pursuing its unsolicited proposals for the Bohol Panglao International Airport and Laguindingan Airport,” the company said.

The infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group was granted original proponent status (OPS) for its unsolicited proposals for the operations, maintenance, and expansion of new Bohol-Panglao International Airport in September 2018 and the Laguindingan Airport in February 2019.

It was able to obtain approvals from the NEDA board for the Bohol unsolicited proposal and ICC-CabCom for the proposal for Laguindingan Airport in late 2019.

Aboitiz InfraCapital said it continues to discuss with the government the best and most prudent way to move forward with the projects.

The company has also submitted an unsolicited proposal for the Bicol International Airport, but it has yet to be granted OPS.

“Aboitiz InfraCapital believes that these projects are vital to reviving the economy and are aligned with its objective to support regional growth centers outside of the National Capital Region,” it said.

Aboitiz InfraCapital is involved in the development of fully integrated economic centers, as well as water, digital infrastructure, and transport and mobility projects that advance business and communities.

The company has earmarked over P13 billion in capital expenditures this year to pursue projects that would significantly contribute in rebuilding the economy.