Conflict of interest cited in bid for Cebu airport deal

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has postponed the awarding of the contract to the highest bidder in the project to build a new terminal and operate the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said that the period for the post-qualification review would be extended to address and investigate the issue of conflict of interest raised by Filinvest against the GMR-Megawide Consortium and First Philippine Airports consortium with partner Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB).

Joseph Yap, who represents Filinvest in the MCIA bid, expressed his appreciation for the DOTC’s decision, saying that the agency “will ensure the integrity of the bidding.”

In bidding for the project, Filinvest partnered with Changi Airport International (CAI), a 100-percent owned subsidiary of the Changi Airport Group.

In its letter to the DOTC and MCIA, Filinvest pointed out the relationships between two foreign companies bidding for the project.

A director of Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL) and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL), which are both affiliates of GMR Infrastructure, is also a managing director of MAHB. This information is posted on MAHB’s website.

Article 5.6 in the bidding rules issued by the Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) state that conflict of interest is present when a board member of one consortium or its affiliates is also directly involved with another bidder. Any violation of this provision will result in both bidders being disqualified.

The MCIA is considered a flagship project of the government’s public-private partnership program (PPP).