New NAIA Infra Corp. says no passenger fee increases for at least a year

New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), which is set to take over the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) later this week, on Monday assured the public that there will be no passenger fee increases for at least a year.

According to NNIC general manager Angelito Alvarez, the agreement inked with the government indicates that an increase would only be effective after a year. The group is set to take over NAIA on Saturday, September 14.

“Based on the Administrative Order that was recently signed, the implementation of the increase in the Terminal 3 will only take effect after one year,” he said during the EJAP-SMC Aviation Forum in Makati City.

NNIC, previously called SMC SAP & Co. Consortium, in March inked a P170.6-billion concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to take over NAIA after it offered the highest share of its future revenues from operating the gateway 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.

“That is really very important, because remember, 82% of the revenues other than passenger service charge will go to the government and you can just imagine the significant investment that we will all be making,” Alvarez said.

“Bulk of the money that will be generated will be from passenger service charge, so it’s very important that we get this,” he added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News