BIZ BUZZ: Dusit Thani Manila to bid adieu soon

It won’t happen right away but in two years or so, Thai hospitality group Dusit Thani will bow out of the Makati property scene after nearly three decades of operating more than 500 luxury guest rooms and suites.

Similar to what happened to Hotel Intercontinental Manila and Mandarin Hotel of old, the existing hotel building will be torn down to give way to something new.

Industry sources said in the case of Dusit Thani Manila, the leasehold right is set to expire and the lot will revert to the Ayala group.

In its place will rise a new office or mixed-use skyscraper to boost the recurring income of Ayala’s property development arm.

The Ayala group has yet to announce redevelopment plans for the property, which forms part of the Glorietta Center. However, it has announced a major renovation of its shopping mall centers. Hopefully, new businesses coming up in the metropolis will absorb job losses in the coming years.

The plan to demolish the hotel, we hear, has already been communicated to the local government in preparation for the permitting processes.

Meanwhile, foodie fans who will crave for the authentic Thai fine dining offered by Benjarong can still enjoy it … if they fly to Cebu or Davao and visit Dusit Thani hotels there. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

‘Airportserye’: Are the tides turning?

We are back with “airportserye” where we follow the developments in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) rehabilitation project bidding process.

Biz Buzz previously reported that tycoon Ramon Ang’s SMC SAP & Co. Consortium might be facing some struggles in the already heated race. It was rumored that some bidders were working on disqualifying the group led by the conglomerate developing a major international gateway in Bulacan.

San Miguel, however, looks like it won’t be denied as it has emerged as the leader of the pack. Its rather aggressive proposal is to give the government an 82.16-percent revenue share, dwarfing its competitors’ bids of below 35 percent.

Some might think that the Manila International Airport Consortium would be on top after previously submitting a P267-billion unsolicited bid to take over Naia’s operations and maintenance but that’s not the case. In fact, it came in last in terms of revenue share proposal after putting forward the lowest bid of 25.91 percent.

GMR Airports Consortium was in the middle with 33.3 percent. And, by the way, the Asian Airport Consortium—led by tycoon Lucio Co and businessman Jefferson Cheng—was disqualified for failing to comply with all the technical requirements. Four became three.

But the bidding process is not yet done as further evaluation of the financial proposals is under way.

So who will eventually be named the winner? Let’s see! —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad