San Miguel-led consortium submits highest bid for NAIA ops, maintenance

A group led by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has offered the highest bid among the three qualified bidders for the operations and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The three qualified bidders, deemed compliant following the evaluation of their technical proposals submitted last month, are the Manila International Airport Consortium, GMR Airports Consortium, and SMC-SAP & Company Consortium.

Of the three, SMC-SAP & Company Consortium submitted the highest bid amount percentage of 82.16%.

This was followed by the GMR Airports Consortium, which offered 33.30%.

The Manila International Airport Consortium has the lowest bid amount percentage of 25.9%.

LOOK: San Miguel Corp.-led consortium submitted the highest “bid amount” for the NAIA privatization project.

To recall, the DOTr earlier said the bidder that offers the biggest share of their revenue from managing NAIA would win the project. pic.twitter.com/1AcjS5ehmN

— Ted Cordero (@Ted_Cordero) February 8, 2024

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) earlier said the bidder that offers the biggest share of their revenue from managing NAIA would win the project, with the concession agreement indicating a P2-billion annuity payment.

SMC-SAP & Company Consortium is made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp.

GMR Airports Consortium is composed of GMR Airports International B.V., Cavitex Holdings Inc., and House of Investments Inc.

Manila International Airport Consortium’s members included GIP MIA PTE. Ltd., Aboitiz Infra Capital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Infracorpt Dev’t Inc., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp.

DOTr Undersecretary for Planning and Project Development Timothy John Batan said a detailed financial evaluation of the proposals of the three qualified bidders will follow following the opening of the bids.

The agency aims to announce the results of the financial evaluation on February 14, 2024, meaning the winning bidder will already be determined and the issuance of the notice of award to the winner will proceed the following day.

Based on the timeline for the NAIA PPP project, the DOTr is targeting turning over the operations of the country’s main airport to the winning private sector group on September 11, 2024.

The winning consortium would need to make an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government and another P2 billion in annuity payments. It will operate NAIA under a 15-year Rehabilitate-Operate-Expand-Transfer concession deal, with an option for a 10-year extension. 

In a separate statement, SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said the SMC-SAP consortium’s financial proposal prioritizes benefits to the government and the Filipino people.

“Our aim is to elevate NAIA to a world-class standard, ensuring an exceptional experience for all travelers with first-rate services and facilities. Our commitment is to ensure this project brings significant value and advantages to our nation, our government, and our kababayans,” said Ang.

San Miguel is currently developing the over P700-billion New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, envisioned to be an alternative gateway to decongest NAIA. —VBL, GMA Integrated News