New administration asked to review $150-million Malaysian offer to upgrade DMIA

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – A Malaysian consortium has insisted it has made the “most feasible and workable”  $150-million offer to upgrade the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here, as it appealed to the incoming Aquino administration to take “a second hard look” at its proposal.

Willian Chee of Malaysia-based Bristeel Overseas Ventures, Inc. (Bristeel) issued this appeal yesterday after the government-owned Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), which runs the aviation complex here, announced recently that is has “accepted for detailed negotiations” the proposal of a local consortium known as Philco Aero, Inc. to expand the DMIA terminal under a joint venture project.

“Take a second hard look at our $150-million proposal and at our track record and experience to finance and complete the project,” Chee said.

Chee said the DMIA project his consortium is interested in “will just be the start of bigger Malaysian investments into multi-billion dollar transportation and tourism infrastructure projects in and around Clark freeport.”

“We also want to develop within Clark a new metropolis development similar to the Kuala Lumpur Sentral which is a city within a city built around Malaysia’s largest transit hub,” he said.

Chee said that despite CIAC’s apparent preference for Philco Aero, “our commitment to pursue this (DMIA terminal) project remains firm and focused and we are hoping that the incoming administration of President-elect Sen. Benigno Aquino III will seriously reconsider our proposal as the best offer to fasttrack the development of the DMIA.”

Bristeel cited provisions of the 2008 joint venture guidelines issued by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) purportedly indicating that Philco Aero “is far from securing the DMIA project.”

“According to the guidelines, an acceptance for detailed negotiation shall not bind the government entity (CIAC) to enter into a joint venture activity,” Bristeel noted in a statement.