By Romeo Y.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA) modernization, conducted through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession, is expected to bring in P900 billion for the national government.
The 25-year agreement with the SMC-SAP Co. Consortium aims to contribute P36 billion annually, supporting various social and infrastructure projects.
The consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC), in collaboration with the operator of South Korea’s Incheon airport, has successfully secured a 15-year concession to rehabilitate and operate NAIA.
The SMC SAP & Co. Consortium officially received the notice of award for the NAIA upgrade recently, marking one of the swiftest privatization processes for a government asset in history, with the bidding phase concluding in less than six months.
Under the terms of the concession granted by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the consortium will oversee the management of the airport until 2039. T
The SMC-SAP Co. Consortium commits to an upfront payment of P30 billion and annual payments of P2 billion.
In comparison, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) alone remitted P23.3 billion from 2010 to 2023, averaging P1.78 billion annually.
The DOTr’s announcement on Friday highlights the awarding of the NAIA modernization concession to the SMC-SAP consortium through a solicited PPP scheme.
This development signifies a substantial P900 billion influx into the government’s resources and marks a significant step in enhancing NAIA’s capacity, with the last major expansion occurring in 2008 with the operationalization of Terminal 3, bringing the current capacity to 35 million passengers annually.
