MANILA, Philippines – The government is putting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) upgrade project on hold as it studies various options and proposals being floated to develop airports to serve Mega Manila or the Greater Capital Region.

Public-Private Partnership Center executive director Ferdinand Pecson told reporters in a recent interview the government also needs to have a complete or holistic approach in developing airports for Mega Manila or the areas of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite, aside from Metro Manila.

“The Department of Transportation… are looking at these various options they now have on the table. So, they have to decide this together with the airport, the Clark development and the NAIA because these are all going to affect each other,” he said.

The P74.6-billon NAIA PPP project involves the upgrade of the country’s main international gateway aimed at improving the safety and security and maximizing the capacity of the NAIA through infrastructure or assets for air traffic and landside management.

Apart from the redevelopment of the airport, the winning bidder will handle the operations and maintenance of the NAIA according to international standards.

The project’s concession period covers 15 to 20 years, including the design or construction.

Various groups have expressed interest to participate in the bidding for the project, including Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., as well as the joint venture of Megawide Construction Corp. and India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd.

13 February 2017
By Louella Desiderio