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SAN Miguel Corp. plans to construct a new passenger terminal building for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to double the capacity of the airport, the rehabilitation and operations and maintenance deal of which it officially secured on Monday.
Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said the consortium called New Naia Infrastructure Corp. will “clean” the image of Naia through several enhancement initiatives, including the construction of a new terminal.
“We saw that the return will be good if we build a new terminal. It will be located at the Philippine Village Hotel. What we need is the approval of the government. We can finish that quickly,” he said in a press conference, noting that the terminal can be inaugurated within three years from approval.
The new terminal will have a capacity of 35 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and will be equipped with 50 boarding bridges.
“We have to build an airport that is good for 65 MPPA. No terminal will be phased out, but we will decongest all terminals by moving the offices to the planned new multipurpose building carpark,” Ang added.
By moving the offices to a new location, Naia’s existing terminals will have 30 percent more capacity, he noted.
On Monday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) signed the concession agreement for the Naia Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project, the first PPP contract to be awarded since the new PPP Code took effect in December.
Ang said the company will optimize the use of the terminals and will replace aging components, improve runway movements, and ensure a smoother ride to and from the terminals through a dedicated bypass from the Naia Expressway.
He vowed an improved passenger experience within six months from taking over the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the Naia, scheduled for September.
Asked about how the consortium plans to fund the P170.6-billion project, Ang said he has already secured the backing of as many as seven lenders.
The funding will be led by BDO, but “five or six” other banks have chipped in their support.
The Naia Infrastructure Corp. —composed of San Miguel Holdings Corp. RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp. won the public auction for the project after offering a government share of 82.16 percent of future gross revenues.
“This project has been thought of 30 years ago, but it’s only now that we are able to implement it and we were able to do it in less than one year. The process was very fair and transparent,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said.
The Naia Privatization Project is a Rehabilitate-Operate-Expand-Transfer (ROET) deal led by the DOTr and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).
Under the terms of reference for the deal, the winning consortium shall provide an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government as premium and another P2 billion in annuity payments.
It is also required to remit a certain percentage of the revenues to the government. This will be the main bid parameter for the auction—the higher the proposed share of the government in the Naia’s revenues are, the better.
“It is a significant milestone in the Philippine infrastructure landscape, highlighting the government’s commitment to its Build-Better-More program. We are confident that the streamlined process this project underwent will serve as a blueprint for future Philippine PPP projects,” PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez said.
The concession was initially set for 15 years with an option to extend by 10 years as long as the concessionaire is “not in flagrant violation of the concession agreement.”
Image credits: Contributed photo
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