DOTr woos Japanese firms to bid for Naia deal

MANILA  -The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is looking at Japanese investors to realize some of the country’s major public-private partnership (PPP) projects, including the rehabilitation of the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

During a forum in Tokyo, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista invited Japanese firms to participate in the bidding for the P170.6-billion Naia upgrade project, which is slated this fourth quarter.

“The concessionaire’s aeronautical revenues will consist of passenger service charges, landing and takeoff fees, aircraft parking, tacking, and cargo and others. The concessionaire will be allowed to conduct airport-related commercial activities within the project land,” he said.

The submission of bids for the solicited proposal—which seeks to increase airport capacity to at least 62 million—is on Dec. 27. DOTr officially started the bidding process last Aug. 23.

READ: PH jump-starts Naia privatization as deadline for bids set for Dec 27

The project includes the rehabilitation of passenger terminals and airside facilities such as runway, aircraft parking area and airfield lighting; provision of facilities enabling intermodal transfer at the airport; and construction of connection from Naia Terminal 3 to Metro Manila Subway, which is under development.

Previously, the Manila International Airport Consortium lodged a P267-billion unsolicited Naia rehabilitation proposal, which includes shortening of passenger processing time by introducing modern technology like automated boarding gates and self check-in and bag-drop upgrades. The group has yet to announce an intent to throw its hat in the ring.

READ: ‘Mega consortium’ sweetens Naia modernization pitch, commits P210B

“Until the Bulacan airport is built, it (Naia) remains the nation’s premiere international gateway, and it is the closest airport to the capital’s financial, political and cultural hubs,” Infrawatch PH convener Terry Ridon told the Inquirer earlier.

Apart from the airport bid, Bautista also promoted the 36-kilometer Metro Manila Subway project and the 147-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

READ: Metro Manila Subway to be fully operational in six years – DOTr

The subway project, which will benefit some 519,000 passengers a day once completed by 2028, is designed to have 17 stations linking Valenzuela and Pasay City.

The NSCR system has 35 stations spanning 28 local government units from Pampanga to Laguna. It is expected to serve over a million passengers daily.

Tokyo and Manila have been working together on several infrastructure projects, signing just earlier this month a 30-year rail master plan covering the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.

The Philippines is also in partnership with Japanese firm Sumitomo Corp. in rehabilitating and maintaining Metro Rail Transit Line 3.