The National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos,
Jr., approved on July 19,
2023 the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
and Laguindingan International Airport public-private
partnership (PPP) projects
aimed at enhancing airport
operations during its 7th
meeting at the Malacañan
Palace.
“The approval of
these key airport projects
demonstrates this administration’s push to use the
PPP mechanism to the hilt
to develop the country’s
infrastructure, particularly
in transportation. Private
sector participation, which
brings in both financial
capital and technical expertise, will enable consumers to experience efficient and quality service
as they travel domestically
and internationally,” Finance Secretary Benjamin
E. Diokno said.
With an estimated project cost of
PHP170.6 billion, the solicited proposal to Rehabilitate, Operate, Expand,
and Transfer (ROET)
NAIA aims to address the
longstanding challenges
of undercapacity, congestion, and underinvestment
in the country’s main gateway.
The solicited
NAIA PPP Project to be
led by the Department of
Transportation (DOTr) and
the Manila International
Airport Authority (MIAA)
will increase airport capacity from 35 million passengers per annum (MPPA)
to 62 MPPA; increase air
traffic movements (ATM)
per hour from 40 to 48;
improve service by applying internationally-benchmarked Minimum Performance Standards and
Specifications (MPSS);
and utilize private sector
expertise for modernization and capacity expansion.
The proposal
was evaluated within a record-breaking period of 7
weeks, replacing the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union
Expressway (TPLEX)
Extension Project as the
fastest approved PPP proposal in Philippine history.
The NEDA Board
also approved the unsolicited proposal for the
Upgrade, Expansion, Operation, and Maintenance
of the Laguindingan International Airport with an
estimated project cost of
PHP12.75 billion, to reinforce its role as the gateway to Northern Mindanao
and promote economic
development and tourism
in the region.
Completed in
2013, the Airport was constructed to address the
safety issues concerning the Lumbia Airport
in Cagayan de Oro and
was financed with official
development assistance
(ODA) from Korea. It is
the first of many regional
airports to be approved for
PPP.
The unsolicited
Laguindingan Airport PPP
Project to be led by the
DOTr and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) also aims
to integrate sustainability
into airport operations and
make use of digital technologies to enhance the
passenger experience and
improve system efficiency.
To ensure a thorough and fair evaluation
process, the DOF introduced safeguards to the
Parameters, Terms, and
Conditions (PTC) of the
Laguindingan International Airport to protect the interests of both consumers
and the government.
The NEDA Board
has instructed the implementing agencies to commence the preparation of
the bidding process and
the negotiations with the
project’s original proponent for the NAIA and
Laguindingan International Airport, respectively.
The swift approval of the PPP proposals
signifies the Marcos administration’s resolve to
build efficient airport infrastructure that will boost
tourism and spur economic growth in the Philippines.
Just last year, the
Build-Operate-Transfer
Law implementing rules
and regulations were revised and the Investment
Coordination Committee
(ICC) Guidelines on processing PPP proposals
were updated, streamlining the submission, evaluation, and approval of PPP
projects.
The NEDA Board
is composed of the President as Chairperson,
NEDA Secretary as Vice
Chair, and the Executive
Secretary, Finance Secretary, and Budget Secretary
as members. DOF.GOV
