San Miguel joins MCIA bid

CEBU, Philippines -  With the confirmed participation of the conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in the ongoing airport bid and the recent partnership of the consortium of the Ayala and Aboitiz business groups with a US firm for the same intention, a top official of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) remained bullish and elated with the serious interest of the private sector to contribute to the accomplishment of the public-private partnership project.

MCIA General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete said that although the bidding process will still undergo the legal process of procurement and the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) has not been issued yet, the expressed interest of large-scale business entities to the expansion of the MCIA Terminal (MCIA-T2) is reason for the board to be happy.

He also expressed optimism with the increased participation of the members of the private sector in the PPP project, taking into consideration the favorable investment climate in the country, the promising business case of MCIA with the volume of flights and passengers, and the current administration’s transparent and accountable governance.

“We, at the MCIAA, are confident that there will be many qualified and competent entities and other conglomerates who will signify their interest and will actually respond to the RFQ in due. Everybody will be given a fair chance in partnering with government.  The RFQ will define the parameters of the procurement,” Villarete told The FREEMAN.

The Department of Transportation and Communication is responsible for the issuance of the RFQ which will include the necessary qualifications and criteria for prospective bidders among others.

On the part of MCIAA, the board is hoping that the RFQ would be issued before the end of December so that concerned agencies could then proceed with the procurement which is expected to take the entire 2013 to accomplish the evaluation, awarding of the bidder and the financial closure.

If the projected timetable could be followed, he added, it is probable that the PPP private sector partner can break ground in 2014 for a possible terminal opening in 2016.

Villarete further noted that the number of interested companies, their stature in the business community, and their seriousness in expressing interest to the PPP program strongly indicates the confidence of the private sector in the country to actively support the government at present.

“It all reinforces our trust and conviction to rally behind the “matuwid na daan” battlecry of the President. With such convincing support from the private sector, I am confident that the Philippines will soar to new heights in this decade,” he stated.

In earlier reports, SMC president Ramon Ang confirmed the conglomerate’s participation in the bidding for the P10-billion airport project following its multimillion-dollar investment in Philippine Airlines with the vision to expand its presence in the airport industry.

The conglomerate is engaged in the operations and management of the Caticlan Airport through its TransAire Development Holdings Corporation.

Both eyeing an expansion into the aviation infrastructure business, the tandem of Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with ADC & HAS Airports, Inc., a US-based company.

The Airport Development Corp (ADC) & Houston Airport System (HAS) currently operates airports around the world particularly in US, Quito, Ecuador, San Jose, Costa Rica, Liberia, Costa Rica and the Chungcheong Northern Province in South Korea.

The two confirmed bidders are expected to go against other interested business entities which include their main rival, the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. that is led by Manuel Pangilinan.

The PPP project will involve the construction of a new world-class passenger terminal building with capacity of eight million passengers annually and also include the operation and maintenance of the old and new facilities.

Situated in a 797-hectare property, the MCIA has a single 3,300 meter runway that is complemented by a full-length taxiway and an existing terminal building that could handle 4.5 million passengers a year for both domestic and international wings. —/MIT (FREEMAN)