NAIA to be turned over to private proponent by September —DOTr

The government is aiming to turn over the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the private proponent consortium led by San Miguel by September 14, 2024.

According to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, the government has been undertaking continuous meetings with the NAIA Infra Corp. — made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp. following the signing of the landmark concession agreement in March.

“Continuous ‘yung meeting namin for the turnover kasi maraming conditions, precedent tawag diyan, post-requirements ng MIAA after signing. Marami, ang daming dapat gawin,” he told GMA News Online in a chance interview in Taguig City.

(Our meetings for the turnover are continuous because there are a lot of conditions called precedent, post-requirements of the MIAA after the signing. There are a lot of things to be done.)

Bautista was referring to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which is tasked to upgrade and provide safe, efficient, and reliable airport facilities and formulate and adopt internationally acceptable standards of airport accommodation service.

“So September 14, on or before. ‘Pag naayos namin ng mas maaga, we will turn over before September 14, pero ‘yun na talaga ang deadline,” he added.

(So September 14, on or before. If we finish earlier, we will turn over before September 14, but that is the deadline.)

The DOTr inked the P170.6-billion concession agreement with the NAIA Infra Corp. — then called SMC SAP & Co. Consortium — in March, after it offered the highest share of its future revenues from operating the airport to the government.

The group has committed at least P122.3 billion in capital investments for the entire 25-year concession period, equivalent to P4.89 billion per year. It would need to make an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government, and another P2 billion in annual payments for the duration of the contract.

San Miguel Corp. president and chief executive officer Ramon Ang last month unveiled plans to build a new passenger terminal building with a capacity of 35 million passengers per year, with a carpark that has a capacity of 9,000 vehicles.

The government, meanwhile, is expecting to generate P900 billion in revenues from the public-private partnership (PPP) project, inclusive of upfront payment, annual payments, and the committed government revenue share. —VAL, GMA Integrated News