Cavite extends deadline for airport bids

The Cavite government has pushed back the deadline for proposals to build a new $10-billion international airport in Manila Bay as it hopes to lure more offers.

The original Nov. 25 deadline for the project dubbed the Sangley Point International Airport was moved to Dec. 17 this year, an extension of about three weeks, said Jesse Grepo, legal officer and secretary of the local government’s public private partnership (PPP) selection committee.

“Some of the candidate JV (joint venture) partners requested the PPP selection committee to give them additional time to prepare their JV proposals,” Grepo said in a text message.

Bidders sought as many as 60 days but the committee allowed a 22-day extension “because of the project’s tight development schedule,” he added.

Seven firms, including a Chinese group and companies seeking to upgrade and operate the nearby Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s congested main gateway, have acquired joint-venture documents issued by the Cavite government.

However, in recent weeks, some of the groups told the Inquirer the Nov. 25 deadline was too tight for a project of this scale. Bidders also sought clarification on certain terms involving the participation of Chinese lenders.

A Cavite government representative said the winning group would be free to arrange its own funding sources.

The provincial government, which opened the selection process last Oct. 11, is seeking a partner to transform the existing Sangley Airport, formally called the Danilo Atienza Air Base, into a sprawling world-class gateway.

Once finished, it will have multiple parallel runways and a passenger capacity of at least 100 million a year— three times the design specifications of Naia.

The seven companies that acquired joint venture documents included state-run China Communications Construction Co., Manuel V. Pangilianan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp., Manuel Villar’s Prime Asset Ventures, and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. led by businessman Jefferson Cheng. The two other entities were Langham Properties Inc. and Mosveldtt Law Offices.

Megawide Construction Corp., the operator of the Mactan Cebu International Airport together with India’s GMR Infrastructure, previously disclosed that it had acquired access to the joint-venture documents.

As part of the project, the Cavite government wants to reclaim close to 1,400 hectares of land around Sangley Point.

The first phase, which will give the airport a capacity of 25 million passengers a year, could be completed as early as 2022. Grepo said the ceremonial groundbreaking was still slated for January 2020.

The current Sangley Airport is currently being readied by the Department of Transportation to handle general aviation and turboprop operations. The airport now has a 2,400-meter runway, a terminal for 160 passengers and an apron that can accommodate up to five turboprop planes.