The government plans to privatize operations and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as well as modernize other aviation gateways and upgrade their security systems in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in 2015 that the country is hosting.
According to Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the transport agency is now working with the PPP Center to engage the services of a transaction adviser for the planned privatization of country’s premier gateway.
PPP Center is the government agency that facilitates implementation of the country’s public-private partnership programs.
Limcaoco said NAIA’s privatization might also entail expanding its airside and landside facilities to accommodate expected growth in passenger traffic.
The transport official did not provide a timeframe for the project.
NAIA will reach over-capacity in 2015, when it is expected to handle 37.78 million passengers, according to a recent study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
In related developments, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has agreed to provide DOTC with technical assistance when it conducts security vulnerability assessments of three major airports in the Philippines. The three airports are NAIA, Laoag and Iloilo, DOTC secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told PortCalls in a text message.
According to USTDA, the technical assistance will help the operators of these airports to “maintain safe environments that can foster commercial activity, tourism, regional economic integration, and foreign investment.”
At the signing ceremony with USTDA on September 16, Liamcaoco said the project is timely since the Philippines is modernizing its airports and upgrading its aviation safety and security procedures as it gears up for the APEC Summit in 2015.
USTDA director Leocadia Zak emphasized the agency’s long-standing commitment to leverage U.S. expertise in helping build sustainable infrastructure in the Philippines. Zak pointed out that USTDA has supported key transportation, energy, and telecommunications projects that have led to over $1 billion in U.S. exports.
Earlier, DOTC said some 49 airports are set to be modernized and upgraded over the next five years at a total cost of P109.63 billion. Opening of the tenders for the initial six PPP airport projects will be held in the fourth quarter of 2014. These projects involve the expansion, operation, and maintenance of Laguindingan Airport (at a cost of P2.26 billion), New Bohol Airport (P4.57 billion), Puerto Princesa Airport (P5.81 billion), Davao Airport (P5.88 billion), and Bacolod Airport (P3.61 billion).
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