Marcos administration not keen on selling NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration has no plans yet to sell the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the private sector, even as the construction and upgrade of three airports near Metro Manila threaten to challenge its purpose.

In an interview with The STAR, Transportation Undersecretary Roberto Lim said the government will maintain NAIA as the country’s primary gateway as it intends to use airports around Metro Manila as secondary points of entry.

“Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista has advocated for a multi-airport approach to address the growing air travel needs of Filipinos, especially those residing in Metro Manila,” Lim said.

Last week, the provincial government of Cavite issued the notice of award to a consortium led by the Virata and Yuchengco groups to put up the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) worth $11 billion. The SPIA will feature two runways that can serve up to 75 million passengers a year.

As such, questions arose as to what the government under President Marcos would do with the NAIA, an airport that has been the subject of talks for rehabilitation and even repurposing. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda estimates that the privatization of NAIA can bring in as much as P500 billion to public funds that can be used to ease budget constraints or settle outstanding debts.

In spite of this push, Lim said the construction of SPIA and expansion of the Clark International Airport will make them viable alternatives to NAIA without replacing it as the main gateway.

“The development of SPIA through the PPP [public-private partnership] scheme, in collaboration with the Cavite provincial government, will help ease the capacity strain on NAIA,” Lim said.

“Likewise, the expansion plan for Clark International Airport will allow it to become an alternative gateway for Metro Manila, Central and Northern Luzon,” he added.

Passenger traffic made up of domestic and international arrivals in NAIA has reached 15.59 million as of July. During the period, seven in every 10 guests of the airport flew to domestic destinations, while the remainder booked international trips.

In comparison, passenger volume at the Clark airport reached 434,214 between January and August, according to its operator Luzon International Premier Airport Development. Unlike NAIA, international passengers accounted for 83 percent of the airport traffic in Clark.

Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon – who used to serve as a member of the House Committee on Transportation – said the viability of new airports like SPIA and the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) would depend on how they would stand out against NAIA.

“All four airports will invariably compete for the same passengers and airlines even in the years prior to 2028, or the year when the first phase of SPIA will be completed, but the public and the government have yet to see whether Sangley and Bulacan will even be able to proceed to their full construction in the next five years,” Ridon told The STAR.

“If the government redevelops NAIA instead of repurposing it, the market will then decide which of the four airports will be most viable, particularly on their ease of access and flight availability,” he added.