The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) recently released bid documents for construction, operation and maintenance of the $504.8 million Mactan-Cebu International Airport passenger terminal project.
In a statement, the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center said the project will include the construction of a new passenger terminal and apron, operation and maintenance of both new and existing passenger terminals, renovation of the existing terminal, installation of all equipment, including information technology required under international guidelines and International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
Structured as a build-operate-transfer project, it will grant the winning bidder the concession to operate and maintain the two passenger terminals and other landside facilities for 20 years.
Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority will continue to operate and maintain critical airside facilities of the airport, including the runway, taxiway, apron, communication navigation and surveillance facilities, and the air traffic control tower.
Bidding will end on February 25.
Entities that expressed interest in the project are San Miguel Corp, the Gokongwei group, the Manny Pangilinan group, and the joint venture between Ayala Corp and Aboitiz Equity Ventures.
But San Miguel and the Gokongwei group have now been automatically disqualified from the bidding because the project’s prequalification terms of reference said a company vying for the deal “cannot be an entity providing air transport services in the Philippines, be they domestic or international.”
San Miguel holds a majority stake in Philippine Airlines. Apart from controlling PAL, San Miguel, through unit TransAire Development Holdings Corp., operates the Godofredo P. Ramos airport in Caticlan, the country’s gateway to tourist hotspot Boracay Island.
The Gokongwei group, on the other hand, owns Cebu Pacific.
Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the second most important airport for the Philippines in terms of passenger traffic, handling 14.17% of the total traffic in 2010. In the last 10 years, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport posted an annual growth rate of about 13%.
Since 2011 the facility has exceeded its capacity of 4.5 million, already handling about 6.2 million passengers. By 2016, tourist arrivals in the country are expected to reach 10 million, with Mactan-Cebu getting a substantial share of the total.
