The transformation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has been celebrated as the Transport Deal of the Year at the Project Finance International (PFI) Asia Pacific Awards held in London on February 20. The accolade highlights the project’s significance, not just for its speed but also for being potentially the largest brownfield airport public-private partnership (PPP) project globally at the time of its initiation, according to outgoing Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista during his acceptance speech.
The New NAIA Infra Corp., a consortium including San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics, Inc., RLW Aviation Development, Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., secured the PHP170.6 billion PPP project last year. Their proposal to operate and rehabilitate NAIA included the highest revenue share to the government at 82.16 percent. The group, led by San Miguel Corporation, is set to enhance the NAIA complex, including upgrades to the runway, taxiway, ramp areas, and firefighting facilities. These improvements are expected to boost the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 32 million to 60 million.
In a recent Department of Transportation’s social media update, Secretary Bautista described the NAIA modernization deal as one of the quickest and largest PPP proposals ever approved. He extended gratitude to the Asian Development Bank, their transaction advisor, for their support throughout the process and expressed anticipation for future PPP projects, including the privatization of other airports in the Philippines.
The PFI praised the NAIA modernization as one of the most ambitious and impactful airport rehabilitation projects in South-East Asia and worldwide.