Megawide, GMR to spend P20 B for MCIA

MANILA, Philippines - The consortium of Megawide Construction Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd. plans to spend as much as P20 billion for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) project in the next four years.

The large capital spending, which is above the P17.5 billion investment required to rehabilitate and upgrade the Philippines’ second busiest and largest airport, would be supported by the partners’ strong technical and financial capabilities, officials said over the weekend.

Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, deputy CEO of GMR, said the consortium would pour in P17-P20 billion for the first phase of development of MCIA.

Specifically, the four-year program would include the renovation of terminal one facilities like washrooms and tourist arrival counters in the next six months and the construction of aprons in front of terminal two in 18 months, Harrison said.

Harrison added that 36 months from the start of construction, the consortium would complete building terminal two that would service international arrivals.

The investment would be completed in 48 months with the completion of terminal one renovation and new contact gates, Harrison said.

The new MCIA would also feature unique and exciting retail, food and beverage shops for domestic and international passengers.

The project, including the upfront payment to the government, would be funded by syndicated loans from local and international banks, said Megawide chief marketing officer Louie Ferrer, adding that the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and Standard Chartered have expressed their support on the project.

“We have $1.2-billion cash on hand to participate not only in this project but also in other projects simultaneously,” Harrison 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).

“There is actually a likelihood that we will deliver sooner than we are expected to,” Harrison said.

The consortium, which is awaiting the formal awarding of the public-private partnership (PPP) contract, is collaborating with hotels associations and tour operators that would benefit from the project.

Harrison said the airport operator is also looking to attract more airlines to MCIA.

Last year, MCIA, which has a capacity of 4.5 million passenger, handled 6.5 million passengers. Megawide-GMR consortium expects traffic to double to 15 million in 2018.

However, the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Development Corp. earlier sought for the disqualification of Megawide-GMR given numerous issues involving financial capacity, conflict of interest and operational background.

“Our expertise is taking over airports with low level of service and lack of infrastructure,” Harrison said.