Tan-led firm to bid for Naia PPP

A company controlled by tycoon and Philippine Airlines (PAL) chair Lucio Tan that originally proposed to build Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 is seeking a comeback.

Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. (AEDC) announced Monday that it would bid for the P74.6-billion PPP contract to modernize and operate Naia, considered the “crown jewel” of Philippine airports.

“We are participating in the bidding because we firmly believe in the growth potential of our country’s premier airport, given our past experience of pushing for Philippine aviation development,” Salvador Mison, president of Asia’s Emerging Dragon, said in a statement.

The PPP project was recently approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority, which is chaired by President Duterte.

The Department of Transportation, which is implementing the project, has yet to roll it out. Details on what the PPP deal entailed have been scant thus far.

In its statement, AEDC said it planned to “improve the operational efficiencies” of the four Naia terminals, both landside and airside, to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

The company added that it was “confident it can provide viable solutions to Naia’s interterminal connectivity as well as traffic congestion in the area.”

If the bid proceeds, AEDC would likely go head to head with several other major business groups that have expressed their interest in the Naia development PPP.

These included Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Other companies, including Megawide Development Corp., which operates the Mactan-Cebu International Airport with partner GMR Infrastructure from India, said they were also keen on the Naia PPP project.