Chelsea’s Davao airport proposal gets Neda-ICC nod

The upgrade of the country’s third-busiest air gateway, the Davao International Airport (DIA), is moving closer to final approval by the Duterte administration.

Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy’s Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday its offer to run and expand Mindanao’s largest airport was cleared by the National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (Neda-ICC).

“This is an early Christmas gift not only to us at Chelsea but for all Filipinos,” Chelsea Logistics president and CEO Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said in a statement on Thursday.

The Neda-ICC clearance is a key step in the approval process. Chelsea Logistics said the project, estimated to cost P48 billion, would undergo further negotiations with the Department of Transportation before it would be taken up by the Neda board, which is chaired by President Duterte.

The final nod of the Neda board will clear the way for a Swiss challenge, which will allow rival bidders to challenge Chelsea Logistics. As original proponent, however, the company has the right to match other offers.

Chelsea Logistics made the 30-year proposal in 2018 and was awarded original proponent status in October last year. The proposal includes the reconfiguration and expansion of the terminal building, construction of parallel taxiway, improvement of airside and landside facilities, the installation of modern airport IT systems.

This will also meet increasing demand in the Mindanao gateway. Davao Airport’s passenger volume hit 4.3 million in 2018 or 43 percent above its design capacity of three million passengers per year, according to Chelsea Logistics.

Uy’s Group is also bidding for Bacolod-Silay airport and Busuanga airport.

Chelsea is part of Uy’s Udenna Corp., a holding company whose assets include logistics, energy, property, infrastructure and restaurants. These companies also own Dito Telecommunity, the country’s third major telco, which is backed by China Telecom. INQ