Marcos Jr. admin dismisses tycoons’ NAIA rehab proposal

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos Jr. administration declined the unsolicited NAIA rehabilitation proposal formulated by several Philippine conglomerates, instead approving the Transportation department’s concession plan.

In a noontime Palace briefing on Tuesday, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved a slew of infrastructure projects that included the DOTr’s solicited proposal. The proposal, crafted with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank, is pegged to cost P170.6 billion covering a 15-year concession period.

The project, under the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport Authority, also includes a 10-year extension of the concession, if needed.

The NEDA indicated that the project is geared towards bolstering the NAIA’s annual passenger capacity, by almost double to 62 million every year.

The proposal from the Manila International Airport Consortium stipulated a 25-year concession, will cost P267 billion and included a P57 billion concession payment to be settled upfront to the national government. The payment would have been the largest offered for a transport public-private partnership project in the Philippines.

The MIAC is composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Asia's Emerging Dragon Corp., Alliance Global – Infracorp Development, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Global Infrastructure Partners.

At face value, the DOTr’s public-private partnership proposal could end up costing the government less on account of a shorter concession period but details remain scarce.

NEDA Sec. Arsenio Balisacan told reporters on Tuesday that the solicited proposal was “pursuant” to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law. This meant, according to Balisacan, that any component of the approved project will not eligible for unsolicited project proposals.

The NEDA chief said that the upgrades were needed since the national government is looking to tourism to drive economic growth.

“You need to get those improvements now. And we think that this solicited approach is even faster,” he said.

By choosing the DOTr’s proposal, Balisacan opined that the government considered the duration of the concession and the share of government revenues, among others.

The MIAC said they heard that the government is taking the solicited advice. 

“MIAC is one with the Government on its infrastructure priorities, and is aligned with the DOTr and NEDA’s commitment to the urgent task of revitalizing NAIA given its importance as the country’s main international gateway. MIAC is united with the Government on the mission to deliver a better NAIA for the country,” the consortium said in a statement on Tuesday.

Back in June, the MIAC said that the 25-year concession with the Philippine government would ensure lower fees and charges.

With this approval, the years of handpicking rehabilitation proposasl for the decrepit airport nears the close. Back in February 2018, a consortium composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc.; AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global Group Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp.; JG Summit Holdings, Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., pitched a similar plan. The proposed deal covered a P350 billion concession for 35 years.

The proposal was revised to P102 billion for a 15-year concession deal.

That proposal did not prosper then, after the previous Duterte administration rejected the proposal. — Ramon Royandoyan