Megawide defends track record, capacity of Indian partner

MANILA, Philippines - Megawide Construction Corp. is confident with the track record and capacity of its Bangalore-based partner in the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) project.

The consortium said it adhered to all applicable bidding rules and regulations as it pursued the public-private partnership project.

Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) of the Gotianun family earlier sought for the disqualification of the Megawide-GMR Infrastructure Ltd. consortium amid questions on the unsatisfactory performance, financial woes and long-term commitment.

For instance, Megawide said the political coup that replaced the Maldives government resulted in the cancellation of GMR’s contract to modernize the Male Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MIA) in December 2012.

“Prior to such illegal action, GMR Male International Airport Ltd. was operating the original MIA airport terminal and building a new airport terminal,” the consortium said.

“It had not been cited for any violation in its operations and was ahead of schedule in building the new MIA terminal,” it added.

MCIA bidders were required to submit a Notarized Certification of Absence of Unsatisfactory Performance Record indicating the companies’ contracts in the past five years were not terminated, suspended or materially violated.

On the issue regarding its financial woes, the partners said the Maldives incident did not materially impact GMR.

“The latest audited financial statements as of September 2013 of GMR show that the company has a consolidated net worth of $1.68 billion and gross assets of $10 billion,” the consortium said.

The tandem of Megawide and GMR topped the bidding for the MCIA with a financial offer of P14.404 billion, followed by the Filinvest-Changi Airport consortium (P13.999 billion) and Premier Airport Group led by SM mall and banking conglomerate (P12.5 billion).

FDC also questioned the long-term commitment of GMR Infrastructure in the 25-year concession to operate the Philippines’ second-biggest airport.

“GMR’s 40-percent equity in the MCIA project is considered a long term investment,” Megawide said. “GMR is fully prepared to abide by the investment lock-up requirements under the bidding rules,” it added.

The Bids and Awards Committee is conducting a post-qualification evaluation before awarding the project in January.

“Finally, the consortium believes it has always acted in good faith and has observed all quin relation to the bidding,” Megawide-GMR said.

“The track record will speak for itself. We are confident we can deliver a world-class airport,” said Megawide chief financial officer Oliver Tan.

“(The partnership)is a winning formula especially in greenfield projects where there is construction involved. (GMR Infrastructure) is bringing their experience on the operations and maintenance side,” Tan said.