Ayala, Aboitiz team up for P10-B Cebu Int’l Airport proj

MANILA, Philippines - Two of the country’s biggest conglomerates, Ayala Corp. and Abotiz Equity Ventures Inc., have partnered with global airport operator ADC & HAS to bid for the redevelopment of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), estimated to cost around P10 billion.

In a joint statement, Ayala and AEV said they have signed a memorandum of understanding with ADC & HAS Airports Corp. to form a consortium that will participate in the planned public bidding of the MCIA under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

The project, which grants a 20-year concession, will involve the construction of a passenger terminal building that can accommodate eight million passengers, as well as the operation and maintenance of the airport facilities.

MCIA, the country’s second largest international gateway, is currently operating over its capacity with five million passengers travelling annually. Passenger volume is projected to grow at an even faster pace with the expected increase in tourist arrivals.

Houston-based ADC&HAS combines the operational strength and technical resources of the Houston Airport System and the airport privatization and development experience of Airport Development Corp.

HAS operates three airports in the United States that handle an aggregate capacity of nearly 50 million passengers annually, making it North America’s fourth largest airport operator.

ADC & HAS also operates airports serving the capital cities of Quito, Ecuador and San Jose, Costa Rica with an annual capacity of over five million passengers and over 3.6 million passengers, respectively. It also operates airports in the growing tourist destinations of Liberia, Costa Rica and the Chungcheong province in South Korea.

“We are very excited to partner with ADC&HAS in the bid for the Mactan Airport. Their experience and success in building and operating world-class airports in multiple emerging markets under a PPP concession framework make them a highly suitable partner for a project like this,” said Fernando Zobel De Ayala, president and chief operating officer of Ayala Corp.

“We believe their expertise in airport operations together with the combined strengths of the Aboitiz and Ayala groups can offer the opportunity to significantly increase the standards of airport operations in the country.  We believe that Mactan can become an even more important international gateway to southern Philippines,” Zobel added.

AEV president and chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz, for his part, said: “By partnering with ADC&HAS, we are bringing on board one of the most dynamic developers and operators of airports in the world today. ADC&HAS has been at the forefront of airport and commercial development for over 40 years, spearheading landmark airport privatizations in Canada, Hungary, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and just recently in Korea. Coupled with the technical resources from HAS, the world’s sixth largest airport system, we’re confident that our alliance with ADC&HAS will allow us to develop a world-class airport facility in Mactan that all Filipinos will be proud of.”

ADC&HAS president and chief executive officer Jeffrey Schefferman said “they are extremely pleased to partner with Ayala and Aboitiz and are delighted at the prospect of becoming part of a very exciting future in the continued development of Cebu and the Central Visayas region.

“As we recognize the importance of this project for the Philippines, we were very focused and deliberate in our initial due diligence process as we wanted to ensure that our consortium brought to bear the full range and depth of experiences and the financial wherewithal required to achieve success over the long-term. We are certainly excited to move forward in this PPP process,” Schefferman added.

The MCIA project was one of the PPP projects recently approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). It is scheduled for bidding in the next few months.

Phase 1 of the project will be worth P17.5 billion, up from the earlier indicative cost range of P10 billion. It is slated for completion between 2014 and 2016.