ADB backs extension of Naia bidding deadline

A picture shows the logo of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) displayed outside its headquarters in Manila on Sept 2, 2010. Photo by TED ALJIBE / AFP

MANILA  -The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recommended that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) provide prospective bidders for the P170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) rehabilitation project more time to prepare their pitch, claiming doing so will yield better bidding results.

The financial institution, which is the DOTr’s transaction advisor for the project, indicated in an internal memo that extending the deadline for bid submission to Jan. 29 will allow the interested parties to iron out their proposals. The original deadline is Dec. 27.

“It would also provide concrete evidence of the government’s commitment to encourage new players and foreign investment in the Philippine public-private partnerships (PPP), without causing undue delay to Naia’s modernization and the PPP program,” ADB said.

ADB noted that four entities had already requested for an extension to “analyze additional information from Manila International Airport Authority and DOTr, and to secure their internal corporate approvals, which will take longer in light of the upcoming holiday season.”

Should the DOTr stick to original deadline, ADB said it would only expect submissions from two prospective bidders described as entities “significantly more familiar with Naia” than other interested parties.

More competition

Extending the deadline could thus translate to more competition and a better outcome, ADB stressed.

But for now, time is ticking for the prospective bidders, with the DOTr reminding them to submit their bids on time as there is no plan to extend the deadline.

“The Pre-qualifications, Bids and Award Committee for the project already issued a bid bulletin indicating that the bid submission date remains to be Dec. 27,” a DOTr official told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

The DOTr has stressed the urgency of the project with target awarding of the contract by the first quarter of next year.

Eight groups

As of the latest update, eight entities are vying for the airport upgrade project, including the Manila International Airport Consortium who previously submitted a P267-billion unsolicited bid.

The consortium comprising the country’s biggest conglomerates proposed to shorten passenger processing time by introducing modern technology such as automated boarding gates and self check-in and bag-drop upgrades.

READ: Gov’t chooses open bidding for Naia rehab, snubs MIAC offer

But the government chose the solicited bidding route, opening the race in August. A solicited process means the initiative to bid out a contract package comes from the government in contrast with an unsolicited one, which is initiated by a private sector proponent.

More familiar names emerged following the announcement, including San Miguel Corp. and the GMR Group. The billionaire Ramon Ang-led conglomerate is currently developing the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan with a design capacity of up to 100 million passengers annually. GMR, meanwhile, is an Indian infrastructure developer that is part of the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. running the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

READ: Think tank: New NAIA rehab an attractive deal

The Naia rehab project attracted construction companies from Turkey: Cengiz İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Limak İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş..

The Incheon International Airport Corp. also bought bid documents. It manages South Korea’s biggest international gateway, which handles 77 million passengers annually.

Lastly, Spark 888 Management Inc. and Asian Airport Consortium were also reported as prospective bidders. Further details about these entities have yet to be disclosed.

The airport project includes 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. INQ