Lone bidder for Sangley airport development

MANILA, Philippines — The tandem of Lucio Tan’s Macroasia Corp. and state-owned China Communications Construction Co. (CCCC) is now in the running to partner with the provincial government of Cavite to develop Sangley airport into a world-class international gateway.

The MacroAsia-CCCC tandem was the sole bidder for the Sangley Point International Airport Project after yesterday’s deadline for submission.

An official from MacroAsia said its partners for the proposal also include CCCC’s sister companies China Airport Construction Group Co. Ltd., which specializes in airport design and construction, and CCCC Dredging Group Co. Ltd.

The original deadline to submit proposals was scheduled on Nov.25, but was moved to Dec. 17 due to the request for extension by those who bought bid documents.

Both MacroAsia, through its wholly-owned subsidiary MacroAsia Properties Development Corp., and CCCC earlier bought the P1 million bid documents for the Sangley Point International Airport Project.

The other five companies which also purchased bid documents were Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Prime Asset Ventures Inc., Philippine Airport Ground Solutions Inc., Langham Properties Inc., and Mosveldtt Law Offices. Megawide Construction Corp. accessed the documents through another party who bought it on their behalf. 

Megawide chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra said in a text message yesterday morning that the company would not submit a proposal.

The proposal from MacroAsia and CCCC will now be up for assessment, with the Cavite government  targeting to award the contract by next month.

Lucio Tan’s group is also involved in the plan to rehabilitate, operate and expand the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The Tan-led Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp. is a member of a group of seven conglomerates dubbed as the NAIA consortium.

The Sangley Point International Airport Project is being undertaken by the Cavite government under the Public-Private Partnership Code, which will no longer require the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority for implementation.

The 1,500-hectare master-planned international airport hub will feature four runways, airside and landside facilities, and can accommodate up to 130 million passengers annually.

Its first runway is expected to be completed in three years or by 2022 as part of the project’s first phase. The second phase of development will follow with target completion on 2028.