Marcos Admin Does Not Want to Sell NAIA

The Marcos administration has mentioned that they do not intend to sell the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the private sector. This comes as the upgrading and building of three airports close to Metro Manila question its purpose.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Roberto Lim has stated that the government will keep NAIA as the main gateway of the Philippines and plans to use other airports near Metro Manila as additional entry points.

“Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista has advocated for a multi-airport approach to address the growing air travel needs of Filipinos, especially those residing in Metro Manila,” said Lim.

The local government of Cavite issued a notice of award to a consortium led by the Yuchengco and Virata groups to build the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) amounting to $11 billion.

The SPIA will highlight two runways that will host an estimated 75 million passengers annually.

With these, concerns were raised to President Marcos as to the future of NAIA, which has been a hot topic for repurposing at rehabilitation. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda projects that NAIA’s privatization can rake in around ₱500 billion to public funding that can be allocated to debts or to relieve budget constraints.

Lim has also mentioned that the SPIA’s construction and Clark International Airport will be welcome alternatives to NAIA without replacing this as the main entryway.

“The development of SPIA through the PPP [public-private partnership] scheme, in collaboration with the Cavite provincial government, will help ease the capacity strain on NAIA,” said Lim.

Source: Philstar