Clark International Airport Corp. remains financially strong even though the Clark International Airport had been privatized, the enterprise having even remitted P203 million as dividends to the national government (NG).
CIAC president Arrey Perez said the CIAC remitted P202,905,691.45 to the Bureau of the Treasury on 30 April 2024 as dividends from its operations in 2023.
“The agency’s 2023 remittance is 12 percent higher than the agency’s 2022 remittance, which was P180.4 million,” Perez said.
He said that in 2018 when airport management and operations were still under the CIAC, the agency remitted dividends amounting to P156.7 million.
“Our remittance dwindled to P95 million in 2020 after the airport was privatized, but this year’s P203 million is the CIAC’s biggest dividend remittance thus far,” he added.
The CIAC chief attributed the increase in revenue to fiscal discipline, a dynamic finance team helping make the enterprise a debt-free and financially healthy government corporation, the efficient lease collection of locators at Clark’s civil aviation complex, and the entry of new investments as reasons for the strong financial standing.
The Clark International Airport is operated by the Luzon International Premier Airport Development Corp. (LIPAD), a consortium with a 25-year concession agreement with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) signed in 2019.
The BCDA is the parent company of the CIAC although airport operations are under the supervision of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Perez said CIAC consistently adheres to Republic Act 7656 or the Dividend Law by declaring and remitting the required cash dividends to the national government.
Perez also said the agency looks to boost its dividend remittance to the national government with the adoption of the ‘Seven Flagship Projects’ establishing the Clark Airport City and transform the property into “the premier global civil aviation logistics hub of the Philippines.”
The carefully-planned infrastructure projects include the Clark National Food Terminal, the CRK Direct Access Link, the Clark Entertainment and Events Center, the Urban Renewal and Heritage Conservation Program, the Expansion and Upgrading of Utilities, the Detailed Site Development Plan for the Second Runway for the Clark International Airport (CRK), and the new CIAC headquarters.
“These game-changing projects are intended to improve the business climate at Clark, attract more foreign investments that in turn will redound to an increase in CIAC’s contributions to the national government to fund its development projects,” Perez said.
