Naia rehab TOR out by June, says Bautista

TO REDUCE STRESS Passengers line up at the entrance of the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. The Department of Transportation took a step closer to rehabilitating the “stressful” airport. —FILE PHOTO

MANILA  -The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking at finalizing the game plan to rehabilitate Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) by June as it seeks to enhance operations of the country’s main gateway, which has been a subject of criticisms by the passengers due to inefficiencies.

Transportation chief Jaime Bautista said on the sidelines of a recent event that they aimed to release the terms of reference (TOR) for the Naia rehabilitation project in the first half, a crucial step to launch its search for a private sector partner ready to undertake the airport improvement.

“In a few months, there will be developments. Hopefully, before June,” he said.

Big-ticket project

In February, the DOTr signed a transaction advisory service agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to facilitate the selection of potential private sector partners for the big-ticket infrastructure project.

Under the deal, the ADB advises the DOTr on the modernization and capacity expansion of Naia, which was previously tagged as one of the most stressful airports in Asia. The agreement takes effect from the date of signing until 36 months after or when a partner has been chosen.

The agreement scope includes “financing, improvement, expansion, operation and maintenance of the airport facilities.” The ADB is set to provide assistance in preparing bidding and tender documents; and aid in finalizing concession agreement, among others.

Bautista shared that the ADB was currently doing market sounding activities to know the attractive terms of reference for the investors.

Traffic study

In addition, he said the international development finance institution was also doing an updated traffic study, which would serve as the basis for the terms of reference.

The Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), the agency that manages Naia, recently reported that passenger traffic at the airport more than doubled to 10.86 million in the first quarter from the same period last year. The figure was only 6 percent below the prepandemic level of 11.59 million travelers in the first quarter of 2019.

Flight movements, meanwhile, skyrocketed by 77 percent to 67,781 for the period.

“With the reopening of borders in countries such as Hong Kong and China, as well as the easing of travel restrictions, many travelers have regained confidence to fly in and out of the Philippines for both leisure and business purposes,” Cesar Chiong, general manager of Miaa, previously said. INQ