Top PH conglomerates submit P100-B Naia plan
MANILA -A mega consortium of the country’s biggest conglomerates and a US-based infrastructure investment company have submitted a P100-billion unsolicited proposal to upgrade the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s primary gateway that has been ranked among the world’s most stressful airports in Asia.
The Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC) comprises Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. of the Lucio Tan Group, Alliance Global-Infracorp Development Inc., Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Global Infrastructure Partners.
The consortium is committed to investing in new facilities and technology to “transform Naia into a world-class airport.”
“As the only large-scale operating gateway airport to the Philippines, the modernization and long-term sustainability of Naia is a critical development priority for both the country’s public and private sectors,” said MIAC director Kevin Tan, who is the CEO of Alliance Global.
“The consortium is confident that with additional financial resources as well as operating process and technology improvements, Naia can achieve that vision,” added MIAC director Josephine Gotianun Yap, president and CEO of FDC.
MIAC seeks to double Naia’s passenger capacity to 62.5 million a year by 2028 from 31 million currently.
It noted that the international airport already breached 48 million passengers in 2019, proving the urgency of the expansion.
The government has openly expressed its interest to find a private sector partner to improve Naia. The Department of Transportation signed in February a transaction advisory service agreement with Asian Development Bank to facilitate the selection of potential partners for the big-ticket project.
Earlier, Megawide Construction Corp. and global airport operator GMR Infrastructure—the team behind the Mactan-Cebu International Airport—were granted the original proponent status for the same project but the government revoked the plan in December 2020 for unclear reasons.
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