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Megawide-GMR consortium will submit the final requirement for its P109 billion unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) within the week
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Megawide said it can raise project financing and wants project bidding to be finished by early 2021
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The consortium’s proposal will eventually see NAIA’s current capacity of 30 million passengers per annum increased to 65 million passengers
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NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are expected to see massive improvements in first phases of the project
The last remaining requirement for the P109-billion unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be submitted within the week, according to the consortium of Megawide Construction Corp. and India-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd.
The NAIA project’s proponent also said it is hoping that bidding for the project will be finished by the first quarter of 2021.
“The last requirement of NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) is the submission of financial requirements, so we will be submitting that within the week,” Megawide managing director for transport Manuel Louie Ferrer said in a virtual press briefing.
“Hopefully this gets elevated to the Cabinet Committee, after which is the Swiss Challenge. So hopefully, we can wrap up the whole thing by first quarter of next year,” Ferrer added.
Megawide chairman and chief executive officer Edgar Saavedra said they are “positive” the tandem can raise the financial requirement for the project.
The consortium of Megawide and GMR had submitted in 2018 an unsolicited proposal to decongest and rehabilitate NAIA. Last July, it was granted original proponent status (OPS) after the government terminated negotiations with NAIA Consortium, which had also proposed to rehabilitate the country’s main gateway.
Last August, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the consortium still needed to address issues on its financial capacity and joint liability for the project to proceed.
READ: NAIA project pending Megawide-GMR compliance with BOT Law
The National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) also noted a number of pending compliance with certain requirements of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.
Megawide’s Saavedra explained that NEDA has an issue with the consortium’s financial capability because it is “looking at full P109 billion capex,” while the tandem is looking at phases, similar to other previous projects.
“But since NEDA wants us to comply with P109 billion capex, we brought in GMR to be 40% shareholder’s partner,” Saavedra said.
Last November 11, Megawide said GMR agreed to have a 40% equity participation in the project.
READ: GMR still part of NAIA rehab project, says Megawide
In a separate statement, Megawide said if their consortium is awarded the project, “the Filipino public will experience reduced queuing times and shortened delays at all terminals, clean and improved restrooms, expanded shopping and dining, plus enhanced and smoother security, baggage handling and more.”
The tandem is proposing to increase NAIA’s current capacity of 30 million to 65 million passengers per annum through a strategic and phased approach.
NAIA’s Terminals 1 to 3 is expected to see massive improvements, particularly in the first phases of the concession, Megawide said. This will allow passengers efficient use of facilities and faster transactions, while they can also enjoy their stay in the terminals with better dining and retail experience.
According to the plan, the 40-year-old Terminal 1 will be rehabilitated and expanded and check-in areas will be reconfigured.
The existing structure, designed by National Artist Leandro Locsin, will be retained and enhanced, but the open parking area and back parking building will be redesigned and integrated into the Terminal 1 complex.
Megawide said the centerpiece is envisioned to be a fully sustainable micro-climate “Green Valley” inspired by the Banaue Rice Terraces.
At Terminal 2, reconfiguration of check-in, expansion of dining and retail areas, and improvements in the baggage handling system will be made. Canopies will be installed in the parking facility open areas to allow people to move seamlessly, and the drainage system will be fixed to prevent flooding.
At Terminal 3, new pedestrian canopies will also be installed, while enhanced security areas and bathroom renovations will be prioritized.
Airside, the consortium will construct an additional taxiway and include runway holding areas to allow planes to queue and depart at the soonest time that the runway is available, thus making air traffic significantly manageable.
In the coming years, Phases 2 and 3 will be dedicated to relocating and replicating the existing facilities, developing a brand new international terminal, enhancing all parking, and introducing a railway-based people-mover system, akin to other major global airports.
The tandem of Megawide-GMR, through GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, won a 25-year concession in 2014 to manage and develop Mactan-Cebu International Airport. The tandem also won in 2017 the contract to engineer, procure, and construct the Clark International Airport expansion project.
