‘Gokongwei-Gotianun airport PPP lacks documents’

MANILA, Philippines —  The country’s maiden bundled airport project has been deemed as incomplete by the government, but its proponents are expected to complete the documents needed for the P21.64-billion plan to proceed.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Raul del Rosario yesterday said the unsolicited proposal to take over the Davao, Bicol and Siargao airports has been ruled as incomplete by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.

This means that private proponent Philippine Regional Airports Consortium must turn in missing documents for the project to progress.

Last June, the consortium secured the original proponent status (OPS) for its P21.64-billion plan to upgrade the regional airports. The group is led by Filinvest Infra-Solutions Ventures Inc. and JG Summit Infrastructure Holding Corp., alongside Asian Infrastructure and Management Corp.

Del Rosario said the PPP Code allows proponents to add documents midway to support their filings. He expects the consortium to comply with missing requirements.

“If it is incomplete, it will be returned to the proponent. They can complete whatever documents are lacking. There’s a timeline under the PPP Law when you can submit the lacking documents,” Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario expects the consortium to compete for the project to the end, especially as it already owns the OPS, giving it the right to match counteroffers.

He also underscored the importance of making the project succeed, as it would be used by CAAP to assess future proposals to bundle airport PPPs.

The proposal aims to expand the cargo and passenger capacities of the Davao, Bicol and Siargao airports. If granted, the consortium will be given up to 30 years to renovate the Davao and Bicol gateways and 15 years to improve the Siargao airport.

It will also mark the second airport project the Gokongweis and Gotianuns are working on. They lead the private operator managing the Clark International Airport.

At the ASEAN Transportation Forum organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Del Rosario reported the gains made by his agency in building up provincial airports.

Right now, CAAP manages 91 projects under its wing, most of which involve the asphalting of runways and expansion of passenger terminal buildings.