NEDA Board approves negotiation report on P735-B Bulacan airport

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board has approved the negotiation report on the Concession Agreement (CA) for the planned P735-billion Bulacan International Airport project.

In an emailed statement on Monday, NEDA said the approval for the unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) project came last Friday, December 21.

Submitted by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) infrastructure unit San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC), the project was earlier approved by the NEDA Board in April.

The project involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of the airport in a 2,300-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan. The development will cover the passenger terminal building with airside and landslide facilities, and an airport toll road.

Under the approved terms, NEDA said the CA includes a no government guarantee or any form of subsidy.

"These are substantial features, proving the project is adequately advantageous to the government," said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia.

"They certainly raise the bar on unsolicited PPP projects,” he elaborated.

With the approval, the Department of Transportation — the implementing agency for the project — will now proceed with finalizing the CA.

The revised CA will then go through a final review of the Office of the Solicitor-General and the Department of Finance (DOF) before it is advertised to parties for a Swiss Challenge.

A Swiss challenge entails inviting other firms to make competing offers, while giving the original proponent the right to match.

The DOTr earlier this month said it targets to finish the Swiss challenge for the project by the first quarter of 2019. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News