The government is preparing the terms of reference for the plan to bid out to the private sector the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the main gateway to the Philippines.
“This will be subject to bidding by proponents,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a news briefing in Malacanang.
He said the government already talked with a group from New York who already operate a number of airports and expressed confidence they can increase capacity at NAIA without any major rehabilitation of the airport, which has four terminals handling tens of millions of passengers each year prior to the pandemic.
In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded nearly all travelers, the Manila International Airport Authority reported that the NAIA handled around 47.9 million domestic and international passengers and generated P15.04 billion in gross revenue, with P8.46 billion going to government coffers.
Bautista said the government may accept either an unsolicited proposal from a group that may include the New York firm, or invite groups to participate in the bidding that may be called once the terms of reference is completed.
He allayed fears that privatizing the operations of NAIA will lead to higher airport fees, saying the government will regulate the operations of the airport.
Two major airports in the Philippines—Clark International Airport and the Mactan International Airport—are already run by private sector groups.
Meantime, Baustista said the government is preparing a feasibility study to build a back-up to the communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system which suffered a glitch that closed Philippine airspace on the first day of 2023, resulting in flight cancellations and stranding thousands of travelers on New Year’s day.
He said a plan is being drawn that will be presented for approval by the National Economic Development Authority and possible funding via the national budget or an official development assistance (ODA) loan.
He said the priority, in the meantime, is to secure a maintenance agreement with Sumitomo-Thales, which terminated its contract with the government in 2020 due to unsettled claims.
Sumitomo-Thales is seeking P986 million in overdue payments while the government has been trying to collect from the group around P644 million due to project delays.
