DOTC rolls out P116.2-B bundled contract for 6 airports

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) started yesterday the search for a concessionaire to develop at the same time operate and maintain six provincial airports in a contract worth P116.2 billion.

In an invitation to prequalify and bid, the DOTC through the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) invited prospective bidders to finance, design, construct, operate, and maintain the Bacolod-Silay, Davao, Iloilo, Laguin-dingan, New Bohol (Panglao), and Puerto Princesa airports.

The biggest project is the P40.57-billion contract to improve the services and enhance the airside and landside facilities at the Davao international airport followed by the P30.4-billion contract for the Iloilo international airport.

Other projects are the Bacolod - Silay international airport worth P20.26 billion, the Laguindingan airport, P14.62 billion; Puerto Princesa airport, P5.81 billion; and New Bohol (Panglao) airport, P4.57 billion.

The DOTC said the 30-year concession contract would be awarded through a competitive bidding following the rules and procedures prescribed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law.

 The DOTC is set to apply the two-stage/two-envelope system for soliciting bids under the BOT Law.

The private sector concessionaire for the Bacolod-Silay, Davao, Iloilo, and Laguindingan airports would take over the operations and maintenance; undertake immediate expansion of the passenger terminal buildings, apron, other airside and landside facilities; and any capacity augmentation to cater to future demand throughout the contractual term.

 Likewise, the private proponent would also take over the operations and maintenance of the New Bohol (Panglao) and Puerto Princesa airports.

The DOTC pointed out that the traffic at the six provincial airports has either exceeded or is nearing their design capacity levels making the fast and proactive development crucial.

Traffic at the Davao international airport has been growing at an annual rate of 10.56 percent over the past five years and handled 2.79 million passengers last year making it the third busiest airport in the Philippines after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as well as the Mactan - Cebu international airport.

Volume of passenger at the Iloilo international airport has been growing at an average rate of 11 percent over the past five years to hit 1.82 million last year making it the fifth busiest airport in the country.

The Laguindingan airport is the sixth busiest airport in the country as volume increased averaged 15.1 percent to hit 1.78 million last year followed by the Puerto Princesa with an average increase of 22.8 percent to hit 1.33 million, and the Bacolod-Silay international airport with an average growth of 9.6 percent to reach 1.32 million last year.

The DOTC has tapped a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to put up the New Bohol airport in Panglao Island that would replace the Tagbilaran airport once completed in the middle of 2017.