Aboitiz boosts P42.7-B bid for Laguindingan airport

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. (AIC), the infrastructure unit of the Aboitiz Group, is partnering with an international airport operator for its  P42.7 billion unsolicited proposal for the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.

“It is not a revised offer but a response to DOTr’s requests for additional info,” AIC chief operating officer Cosette Canilao said.

Aside from working with an experienced international airport operator for the Laguindingan Airport project, Canilao said the company has also tapped design and engineering firm Arup as consultant for the technical studies and masterplan of the proposal.

AIC is optimistic that its regional airport projects will start taking off by the end of this year.

Canilao said the company’s independent unsolicited proposals for the upgrade, operations, maintenance, and expansion of the Bohol-Panglao International Airport and Laguindingan Airport are on the right track.

“We were granted original proponent status (OPS) by the Department of Transportation for the Bohol-Panglao on Sept. 3, 2018. We are hopeful that the government will allow us to operate these two regional gateways this year,” Canilao said.

Apart from the regional airports, AIC is also a member of the NAIA Consortium which was granted OPS by the Manila International Airport Authority on Sept. 10, 2018 to rehabilitate, operate, and expand the Ninoy Aquino International  Airport.

“We are hopeful that the government will grant the consortium the notice to proceed this 2019 so that we can commence the expansion of NAIA to accommodate 65 million passengers per year,” NAIA Consortium spokesperson Jimbo Reverente said.

The NAIA consortium, composed of AIC, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., intends to pour in P102 billion to rehabilitate, upgrade, expand, operate, and maintain the aging NAIA, the country’s main gateway, for 15 years.