NAIA project eyed to jumpstart P40 billion Maharlika investments

MANILA, Philippines — The Maharlika Investment Corp. is setting its sights on the recently awarded Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation as one of about 10 projects where it intends to invest the MIC’s P40-billion funding this year.

In an interview with The STAR, MIC president and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. said the sovereign wealth fund has a thick pipeline of projects to explore as it hits the ground running in its first year of operation.

A third of the P125 billion initial capitalization of the fund will be committed to energy, transportation, infrastructure and agro-forestry for 2024.

“About P30 billion to P40 billion would have been committed by the end of the year,” Consing said.

One particular project that Consing is interested in is the NAIA rehabilitation project, which was recently awarded to the consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) together with the operator of South Korea’s Incheon airport.

The privatization of the country’s main gateway has promised P900 billion in revenue for the government.

“Now that we have a winner, we can begin engaging them and see if San Miguel is open to accepting support in financing,” Consing said.

Consing has yet to say how much MIC is willing to pour in as this would still go through the corporation’s investment committee.

It also depends on whether SMC would need financing from MIC.

“They might not need us anymore and they might not need us [at all]. There’s no doubt that SMC can find it on their own without Maharlika because they went to bid for that without us to begin with,” Consing said.

“It’s really a function of whether or not they’ll allow us to invest,” he added.

While things remain uncertain for now, Consing is not giving up, especially because the NAIA project can add value to MIC’s portfolio.

“We have expressed our interest to co-invest with him,” Consing said, referring to SMC’s Ramon Ang. “But we have not gotten a response.”

“But I’d still like to think that they will be (interested),” Consing said.

The MIC chief maintained that participating in the NAIA rehabilitation would be “one of the best” for Maharlika, adding credibility to the country’s first sovereign wealth fund.

“It is structured properly. It is impactful. It checks so many boxes. It contributes to socioeconomic development,” Consing said.

“It is potentially financially rewarding and you are contributing to the development of the country. The multiplier effect of any connectivity (project) is immense,” he added.

Apart from the NAIA, MIC is looking at three projects each in the energy and agro-forestry sectors, two more in transportation, and one in infrastructure via an unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) project.

As to why the remaining P85 billion has yet to be invested this year, Consing said he is still negotiating for these projects via a payment over time scheme.

To trigger all possible MIC investments this year, the corporation would have to complete its corporate governance framework, including the charters of the various committees, composition of the management team and risk parameters, among others.