The NAIA Consortium which submitted a proposal to upgrade, operate, and maintain the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), has agreed to shorten the concession period to 15 years and narrow project cost to Php105 billion.
Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio Tamayo said the NAIA Consortium, composed of seven of the biggest companies in the country, has agreed to revise their initial plan of rehabilitating and maintaining NAIA for 35 years with a budget of Php350-billion.
“We are continuously discussing with them. They submitted the revised proposal based on our meetings. Originally it was 35 years, then they brought it down to 15. We said that 15 years should be the maximum period,” Tamayo said.
The revised proposal of the NAIA Consortium is shorter than the proposal submitted by GMR-Megawide consortium: an 18-year concession for approximately Php156 billion.
NAIA Consortium proposal
Earlier, the NAIA Consortium said they are open to shorten the concession period based on the recommendations of Department of Transportation (DOTr).
However, a shorter concession period means exclusion of the plan to add runways in the airport.
NAIA Consortium is still determined to increase the airport’s capacity to 65 million passengers per year.
The group’s initial plan was divided into two phases.
The first phase includes the general improvement of the NAIA Terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4; while the second phase involves the development of a reclaimed area in Manila Bay to a third runway and another terminal, an addition that the conglomerates deemed necessary.
READ: Plan to add runways in NAIA could be cancelled, NAIA Consortium says
NAIA life is only 10 years
In April, DOTr secretary Arthur Tugade revealed that NAIA’s life is only down to 10 years due to congestion of passengers and outdated technologies and equipment.
“NAIA will not last forever because it is presently situated in a place which is overly congested, and technology and airline travel have improved,” Tugade said.
“My fear, it would be 8 to 9 years, at most, 10 years. That’s the lifespan of NAIA,” he added.
Tugade underscored the need to rehabilitate the airport to keep up with today’s aviation standards and advances.
Tugada also expressed openness to the idea of opening new airports and turning NAIA into an economic hub like Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
