Efforts to Privatize NAIA Halted Due to Countless Major Setbacks

Plans to privatize Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila have stopped, according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, which also halts any hopes of substantial upgrades and expansion.

Demanding government requirements along with political opposition caused major delays leading the rehabilitation project of NAIA, priced at approximately ₱100 billion, to a standstill.

The privatization was launched under President Duterte’s administration in hopes of solving the worsening congestion in NAIA. It was also part of the Duterte government’s response after it decided to dismiss Benigno Aquino III’s NAIA development public-private partnership project.

“Notwithstanding the stoppage of the unsolicited proposal on the improvements of NAIA, transformation continues to go on and on as we speak,” said Tugade during a recent government infrastructure briefing.

Tugade emphasized the repairs being done on NAIA’s runways and taxiways as part of the Department of Transportations projects. However, rehabilitation plans from the private sector covered more significant areas.

Expansions to passenger capacity and flights as well as an elevated railway system to link NAIA’s terminals were among the investments included in the latest offer from Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure group.

Rep. Jericho Nograles was vocal about his opposition to the project. This 25-year proposal was rejected last December by the Manila International Airport Authority’s (MIAA) board after Megawide was disqualified due to financial capacity.

Proposals from the Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) are next in the queue, but Tugade did not respond when asked about the status of these offers.

In 2018, the NAIA Consortium, composed of a group of conglomerates, submitted its proposal to MIAA which prompted the private sector’s urge to rehabilitate the country’s main gateway. Negotiations lasted for more than two years until the Consortium withdrew in July 2020 due to the pandemic.

SMC has already submitted a 10-year proposal to operate and maintain NAIA without any major redevelopment. However, Ramon S. Ang, SMC’s president, said that it would be better off closing NAIA after his firm’s ₱735-billion airport city in Bulacan has been completed.

Source: Inquirer