The Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC) on Monday bared its plans to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), adding that their unsolicited proposal valued at PHP267 billion to rehabilitate and develop the NAIA would help the country reach its potential of becoming a regional economic hub. “The Philippines has a lot of English talents. You have a highly educated workforce, and a strong government leadership. We cannot allow it to be left behind,” said Jim Yong Kim, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) vice chair, in a press conference. Aside from these, Kim said other key enablers of any regional economic hub are access to financial capital and a reliable transport infrastructure. GIP is a member of the MIAC, along with six other conglomerates — Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corporation, Alliance Global-Infracorp Development, Inc., Filinvest Development Corporation, and JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corporation. In making the airport a regional hub, Kim said they cannot make a mistake of applying a band-aid solution. Representatives of MIAC said their plans basically involve introducing technology and improving passenger processes. They, however, did not go into specifics. GIP head of Transport Philip Iley commented that NAIA has low technology and is slow in passenger processing. The MIAC will also construct additional taxiways to increase aircraft movement. According to Manila International Airport Authority officer in charge Bryan Co, NAIA has multiple taxiways and has assigned 41 to 42 movements per hour for commercial operations for now. MIAC’s first phase plan to be implemented for two years includes increasing the airport’s capacity, from the current 31 million passengers per annum to 54 million by 2025. For the second phase, the MIAC targets 62.5 million passengers per annum capacity by 2028. This can be achieved by expanding and developing the terminal floor area, adding airfield facilities, and improving transportation across the four NAIA terminals. Around 70 million passengers per annum capacity is being eyed by 2048 or during the plan’s third phase. Also in the pipeline are expansion and development projects to further expand the terminal space and airfield capacity. The MIAC has submitted an unsolicited proposal to introduce technological and structural changes to the NAIA under a 25-year concession agreement. Asked for the implication to the public if their proposal gets approved, such as change in the terminal fee, a MIAC member said they will not charge higher than what is in the market. “Terminal fees will not be higher than what’s in the market,” Aboitiz InfraCapital president, Cosette Anilao said. Meanwhile, Alliance Global-InfraCorp. Development, Inc. chair Kevin Tan said now is the time to improve NAIA, as it not only serves as the country’s main gateway, but a transit port to other regional hubs.
Source: Philippines News Agency
