A “super consortium” composed of seven of the country’s top conglomerates submitted a revised proposal for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), in line with the Department of Transportation (DOTr)’s instructions to pattern the plan after Clark International Airport’s concession agreement.

Jose Emmanuel P. Reverente, spokesperson for the NAIA consortium, said the group submitted hard copies of the proposal to the DOTr’s office in Ortigas and the Manila International Airport Authority on Friday morning.

Copies were also delivered to the transport department’s headquarters in Clark in the afternoon.

“We complied with the instruction to follow the Clark template,” Mr. Reverente said in a text message.

The resubmission comes after Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said that they will require all proponents of airport projects to draft concession agreements patterned after the one signed with the North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC) for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the Clark International Airport.

NLAC is composed of Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp.; Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc. (PAGSS) and Changi Airports Philippines Pte. Ltd.

The concession agreement for Clark specifies separate government and private sector roles for the project.

The adoption of the Clark O&M concession agreement as a template is seen to make regulatory approvals much faster, since it will include the same terms that regulatory bodies will have already studied.

Under current rules, the DOTr must draw up concession terms for the group awarded with original proponent status (OPS) after negotiations with private sector groups concerned. These are then submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority’s Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) for evaluation.

The project will need final approval from the NEDA Board, led by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, before implementation.

The NAIA consortium wants to rehabilitate and expand NAIA over a 15-year period for P102 billion. This should increase the capacity of the Manila gateway to 47 million in two years, from the current 30.5 million annual passengers. The capacity will further rise to 65 million after four years.

The consortium is 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.

Aside from the NAIA consortium, three other unsolicited airport development proposals with OPS are pending with the NEDA-ICC: Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. for the Bohol-Panglao International Airport; Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. for the Davao International Airport; and Mega7 Construction Corp. for the Kalibo International Airport. — Arra B. Francia

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