Changi eyes 30% stake in P350-B NAIA rehab

MANILA, Philippines — Singapore’s Changi Airport Group is willing to acquire a 30 percent stake in the project proposed by seven of the country’s biggest conglomerates to transform the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) into a regional hub, according to one of the consortium’s members.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), said the Changi Airport Group has expressed interest to acquire a 30 percent stake in the project.

The seven members of the NAIA consortium, meanwhile, would each be getting a 10 percent stake.

Members of the NAIA consortium are MPIC, Aboitiz Infra Capital Inc., AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., AEDC, Filinvest Development Corp., and JG Summit Holdings Inc.

Pangilinan said the members of the consortium are open to the interest of Changi Airport Group, which runs Singapore’s main airport.

“They (consortium members) seem to have agreed in principle to it,” Pangilinan said.

The NAIA consortium, which submitted a P350 billion proposal to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Feb.12 for the upgrade of the country’s main international gateway, has tapped Changi Airports International Pte. Ltd. to provide technical support in the areas of master planning, operations, optimization and commercial development for its offer.

Phase 1 of the proposal would involve improvements and expansion of the terminals in the current NAIA land area at a cost of P100 billion within 48 months. The project could upgrade the airport to accommodate up to 65 million passengers per year.

The NAIA has an annual capacity of 30 million passengers, but it handled more than 40 million passengers last year.

Phase 2 would involve the development of an additional runway, taxiways, passenger terminals and associated support infrastructure.

The proposal also includes a people mover to link NAIA’s terminals and connect the airport to existing mass transport in Metro Manila, as well as the option to build a third runway.

Construction of the additional runway would allow NAIA to meet higher passenger traffic and handle up to 100 million passengers per year.

When the project is completed, the super consortium aims is to position NAIA as a transit hub in Southeast Asia.