The Asian Development Bank (ADB), as transaction advisor on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Public-Private partnership  (NAIA PPP) Project, is recommending the extension of bid submission deadline by one month, to Jan. 29 2024.

In a document, ADB said the extension up to Jan. 29, 2024 will give bidders more time to prepare and submit bids, thus resulting in more competition and a better financial outcome for the Philippine government. 

“It would also provide concrete evidence of the government’s commitment to encourage new players, and foreign investment in Philippine public-private partnerships, without causing undue delay to NAIA’s modernization and the PPP program,” the ADB added.

It noted that, of the six prospective bidders which have been participating actively in pre-bid activities, four- including large, credible international airport operators with no prior investment in the Philippines have requested an extension. 

“They have asked for more time to request and analyze additional information from MIAA and DOTR, and to secure their internal corporate approvals, which will take longer in light of the upcoming holiday season,” said the ADB.

If the bid date of Dec. 27, 2023 were to be retained, the ABD said it expects two prospective bidders with participation by large local corporations to submit bids. 

They have both submitted unsolicited proposals for NAIA in the past and are thus significantly more familiar with NAIA than the other four prospective bidders. 

“We strongly believe that extending the bid submission date would attract more bids, thus resulting in greater competition and a better financial outcome for the government,” it added. 

The Bank explained that, “The winning bidder would have bested robust competition from a larger number of bidders giving the public further assurance that the concession was awarded to the best possible bidder.”

“It would also send a strong statement that the government is committed to ensuring a level playing field for all investors, now that recent reforms allow local and foreign investors to compete for NAIA on the same terms, without foreign ownership restrictions,” the ADB said.

Six groups were reported to have bought bid documents for the auction: GMR Airports International, San Miguel Holdings Corp., Manila International Airport Consortium, Spark 888 Management, Asian Airport Consortium and Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.

On the other hand, representatives from other groups such as Hyundai Engineering, Itochu Group, Makati Development Corp., Marsh Philippines, Mitsubishi Group, Pulse Consulting, EY Consulting, Samsung C&T Group, Turner and Townsend, Aeon, Cavitex, Bouygues Group, China First Highway Engineering, First Balfour, and Macquarie Capital, among others, participated in the pre-bid conference.