NEDA OKs private takeover of Laguindingan Airport

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on Wednesday approved the unsolicited proposal for the private sector to take over the maintenance and operations of Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.

At a Palace briefing, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the project "known as the unsolicited Laguindingan International Airport PPP (public-private partnership)" was green-lit by the NEDA Board.

"The project aims to integrate concepts of green and connected airports into its design and operation and use digital technologies to enhance the passengers experience," Balisacan said.

"This project will be implemented by the DOTR (Department of Transportation) and the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) worth P12.75 billion," he added.

Under the previous administration, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. bagged original proponent status for its unsolicited proposal to take over the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.

The company submitted proposals to take over the Laguindingan Airport and three other regional airports, under a 35-year concession agreement with the government.

"The project supports the government's effort to enhance regional development and promote tourism in northern Mindanao and its neighboring regions," Balisacan said.

Meanwhile, the NEDA Board also approved the Samar Pacific Coastal Road 2 project which amounts to P7.48 billion.

The project involves the construction of two marine bridges— the Laoang II Bridge and Calomotan Bridge—and improvement of existing roads between Laoang Island and mainland Samar Island with a total length of 15 kilometers. 

Moreover, Balisacan said that the NEDA Board also "approved requests for reasonable changes in scope, cost, design and/or loan validity of four ongoing infra projects."

In particular, the NEDA Board approved the following changes to ongoing projects:

• Loan Validity Extension and Implementation Period Extension of the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation or IDRR-CCA Measures in Low-Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay Project. Total project cost: P7.5 billion.

• Extension of Implementation Period, Loan Validity, Increase in Cost, Reallocation of Loan Proceeds, and Change in Scope and Design of the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Stage II project or the JRMP II project. Total project cost: P19.6 billion.

• Change in the project scope, decrease in cost, and extension of the implementation period for the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage II or MMIP II. Total project cost: P5.1 billion.

• Cebu Bus Rapid Transit or CBRT Project Loan Validity Extension until December 31, 2025.

Lastly, the NEDA board also confirmed the proposed adoption of a national policy and infrastructure sector masterplans," Balisacan said.

"The policy aims to harmonize and rationalize the formulation of masterplans for the infra sector across the government. This is to ensure that the masterplans are coordinated, synergistic, responsive to the emerging issues and consistent with the sector’s development challenges and strategies," the NEDA chief said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News