Deadline for MCIA project extended

The Department of Transportation and Communications is again extending the deadline for the submission of qualification documents for the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) development project, giving potential bidders more time to prepare requirements.

The deadline was moved by another two weeks to April 22 from the previous April 5 to ensure that as many bidders as possible are given the chance to vie for the P17.5-billion project. This is the third time the deadline was extended.

“There will be no further extension thereafter,” the DOTC said in a bulletin published this week.

Like the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Manila, the MCIA has suffered from years of neglect, resulting in congestion at its passenger terminal.

Last month, the facility’s operator, the MCIA Authority (MCIAA), announced that it would refuse the entry of new flights during peak hours due to limitations of the airport’s terminal.

The project being bid out by the DOTC covers the first phase of the 17.5-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project for the development and operation of MCIA.

This phase involves the expansion of the current terminal to allow it to handle 8 million passengers a year. A second terminal will then be built to cater to another 8 million yearly.

The winning bidder will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the new passenger terminal and the existing one for a concession period of 20 years. After the concession agreement, the private partner will turn over the facility and its operation to the government.

The existing MCIA terminal houses both domestic and international operations and has an annual capacity of 4.5 million passengers. Passenger traffic reached 6.77 million passengers last year.

A total of 11 companies have bought pre-qualification documents for the Cebu airport project. These include Metro Pacific Investments Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., Aboitiz Land Inc., Filinvest Development Corp. and Filinvest Land Inc., Macroasia Corp., San Miguel Corp., Prime Power Holdings Corp., Megawide, GMR Infrastructure, First Philippine Holdings Corp. and SM Investments Corp.