Turkish group joins list of potential NAIA upgrade bidders

MANILA, Philippines — Turkey-based Limak Group has expressed interest in the upgrade of the Philippines’ main international gateway, bringing the total number of potential bidders for the project to eight.

Speaking at the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ forum yesterday, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said there are now eight possible bidders for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as the Turkish group bought the bid documents for the project last week.

“We are now in the process of doing a one-on-one meeting with them. We are responding to their questions, to their queries,” he said.

Limak is engaged in various sectors such as construction, aviation, energy, tourism, cement, infrastructure, food and beverage, and technology.

The group was involved in airports including the Volgograd International Airport Domestic Flights Terminal, Khabarovsk Airport Domestic Terminal, and Kemerovo International Airport in Russia, as well as the Senegal Dakar Blaise-Diagne International Airport in Senegal, and the Cairo International Airport Terminal Building 2 renovation and expansion in Egypt.

Aside from Limak, other groups that bought bid documents for the NAIA upgrade were GMR Airports International BV; San Miguel Holdings Corp.; Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC); Spark 888 Management; Asian Airport Consortium; Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S; and Incheon International Airport Corp.

“We just hope all of them will submit their best and final offer by Dec.27,” Bautista said.

After the submission and evaluation of bids, he said the Department of Transportation is looking to award the contract in the first quarter of next year.

The financial closing is expected before the second quarter of next year.

Bautista said the financial closing is important as the winning bidder will need to pay an upfront fee to the government.

Last July, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board chaired by President Marcos approved the bidding for the P170.6 billion project to rehabilitate NAIA.

As the NEDA board opted to go for the solicited mode to rehabilitate, operate, and expand the airport, it in effect, junked the unsolicited proposal submitted by the MIAC, which comprises six local conglomerates and a foreign partner.

Under the approved NAIA upgrade, the concession period will be for 15 years, with the option to extend for 10 years, depending on the performance of the winning bidder.