MANILA, Philippines — The award of the contract for the P170.6-billion project to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) highlights the emphasis of the Marcos administration in providing world-class air transportation infrastructure to achieve the government’s economic transformation agenda, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.

In a statement, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan commended the efforts of the Department of Transportation in spearheading the NAIA Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, which passed the rigorous assessments conducted by evaluating agencies.

Last Friday, the DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority announced the awarding of the NAIA PPP project to SMC-SAP & Co. consortium, following the conduct of a transparent and competitive bidding process.

The group composed of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc. and Incheon International Airport Corp. won the contract as it submitted the highest bid, offering to share 82.16 percent of future gross revenues with the government.

“World-class air transportation infrastructure shall be instrumental in achieving the Marcos administration’s objectives of creating high-quality jobs, encouraging tourism, expanding trade and market opportunities, as well as enhancing mobility toward social and economic transformation,” Balisacan said.

The NAIA PPP has a concession period of 15 years, which can be extended for an additional 10 years, depending on the performance of the consortium.