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The Department of Transportation expects to award the contract to rehabilitate Ninoy Aquino International Airport by the first quarter of 2024
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The deadline for submission of bids is December 27, with awarding of contract a month after
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Six firms have bought bid documents as of September 22
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) expects to award the contract to rehabilitate Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by the first quarter of 2024.
The deadline for the submission of bids is on December 27 and the contract awarding a month after, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a media briefing following the pre-bid conference on the NAIA project on September 22.
Asked about the possibility of extending the deadline, Bautista said the agency is “open to suggestions and recommendations from the bidders.”
As of September 22, six firms have bought bid documents. They are:
- GMR Airports International
- San Miguel Holdings Corp.
- Manila International Airport Consortium
- Spark 888 Management
- Asian Airport Consortium
- Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S
Bautista said he hopes more companies will join the bid, noting that around 200 firms, mostly airport operators, attended their recent first roadshow in Singapore.
In a speech during the pre-bid conference, Bautista said the winning concessionaire will have the opportunity to optimize performance, enhance design capacity, develop commercial potential, and improve service quality, “making NAIA the preferred airport and transit hub in the region.”
Last August 23, DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority opened the bid for the contract involving the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of the country’s main gateway to address longstanding issues of inadequate capacity of passenger terminal buildings and restricted aircraft movement.
RELATED READ: DOTR opens bidding for NAIA rehab
The project aims to increase the current annual capacity of NAIA to at least 62 million passengers from 35 million, and increase air traffic movement from 40 to 48 per hour.
The contract will fall under a rehabilitate-operate-expand-transfer arrangement, in accordance with Republic Act No. 6957, as amended by Republic Act No. 7718, otherwise known as the Build-Operate-and-Transfer Law, and its 2022 revised implementing rules and regulations.
The winning bidder will be given 15 years to rehabilitate the airport’s passenger terminals and airside facilities; develop commercial assets and utility systems; and provide surface access facilities that enable intermodal transfer at the airport, inter-terminal passenger transfer facilities and services, among others.
The concession period may be extended by another 10 years.
Discussions on contract extension will happen on the eighth year of the concession, and will consider performance of the winning bidder based on certain key performance indicators, DOTr undersecretary for planning and pre-qualifications, bids and awards committee chair Timothy John Batan said during the same media briefing.
The KPIs are similar to those in the concessions of Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Clark International Airport.
Failure to comply with KPIs will mean penalties; the contract will not be extended in case of flagrant violation of provisions of the concession, Batan said.
The concession agreement requires an upfront payment of P30 billion post-awarding of contract, fixed annuity payment of P2 billion annually, and a government share of gross revenue, excluding passenger service charge revenue, based on the percentage share bid by the concessionaire.
DOTr undersecretary for aviation and airports Roberto Lim said airlines, airline-related entities and entities with significant interest in the concession of any airport in the Greater Capital Region (which includes CRK, Sangley, and Bulacan airports) are not necessarily prohibited from joining a consortium bidding for the project, but their participation will be limited. This ensures no undue influence on the running of NAIA at the same time fosters a more competitive environment.
The submission of request and conduct of site visits are scheduled from August 28 to November 14. One-on-one meetings with prospective bidders will be conducted in two rounds, in October and in November.
The DOTr Pre-Qualification, Bids and Awards Committee eyes the issuance of the final bid bulletin and final version of the concession agreement on December 4, and the bid submission date on December 27. – Roumina Pablo
