Cebu airport project eyed for PPP

CEBU city—The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is looking at the proposed two-phase expansion of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) as a potential public-private partnership (PPP) project.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) general manager and CEO Nigel Paul C. Villarete said in a briefing here that the project was envisioned to be among the government’s PPP ventures.

NEDA regional office for Region 7 is set to evaluate the study on the airport expansion, which was funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. said that if the project would be found viable, it could still be added to the lineup of PPP projects.

The executive summary of the feasibility study for the proposed airport expansion showed that phase 1 of the expansion would cost P5.85 billion, while Phase 2 will cost P2 billion.

Including administrative cost and taxes and duties, the first phase would cost P6.86 billion while phase 2 will require P2.35 billion in investments.

The study also found the build-operate-transfer mode as “the most favorable option” for MCIAA’s proposed new passenger terminal project.

“New passenger terminals are expected by 2015; that’s Phase 1 and 2,” Villarete said. He said the master plan for MCIA provides for Phase III expansion by 2028. This, he said, should address the growth of passenger volume at the airport. The airport can accommodate five million passengers but volume is expected to hit six million this year with the continued influx of Korean tourists, Villarete said.

Villarete said the feasibility study for the proposed airport expansion was submitted through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) to NEDA, which later sent the document to its regional office in Cebu for assessment.

NEDA deputy director general Rolando G. Tungpalan said the proposal must be supported by an endorsement letter from the DoTC and an assessment report from the NEDA office in Region 7.

“Being a regional project, we referred the proposal to NRO 7 to facilitate the evaluation. The DoTC endorsement is to provide us with a national perspective on the significance of the project and whether it is aligned with the national plan for airport infrastructure,” Tungpalan said in a phone interview.

“The ICC [Investment Coordination Committee] will be looking for those documents, especially the assessment of NRO 7 and the DoTC’s endorsement,” Tungpalan added.