President Marcos’ chief economic manager welcomed the decision to award the long-overdue Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation project to a private sector consortium.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that the P170.6 billion NAIA rehabilitation project represents the largest solicited Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative during the Marcos administration.
“This is certainly a welcome development for this long overdue project. NAIA has been operating beyond capacity for nine years, leading to poor service and passenger inconvenience,” Recto said in a statement on Friday, Feb. 16.
“The NAIA PPP project has been in the works for three decades, spanning six administrations. It has finally turned into a reality under the Marcos, Jr. administration,” he added.
On Friday, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Board granted the contract to the SMC-SAC Consortium, which offered the highest bid amount and will share 82.16 percent of future gross revenues with the government, excluding passenger service charges.
The consortium is composed of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp.
The consortium is tasked with rehabilitating, operating, optimizing, and maintaining the NAIA airport, which encompasses enhancements to its runways, four terminals, and other facilities.
According to the Department of Transportation, the concessionaire will begin operating the airport in three to six months. The public can expect service improvements as early as the first year of operations.
The SMC-SAC consortium shall submit an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government as a premium, as well as an additional P2 billion in annuity payments.
The deal also requires the consortium to remit a certain percentage of its revenues to the government, which served as the main bid parameter for the auction.