Dennis Uy to venture into airport development

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy is eyeing to transform Davao and Panglao airports into world-class international gateways, a new business that could add to his growing empire of petroleum, logistics, shipping, property, gaming and hospitality.

Uy’s Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. (CLC) submitted a P67-billion proposal for the bundled development, operation and management of Davao and New Bohol or Panglao international airports for a concession period of 30 years.

This is the first unsolicited bundled proposal for the Davao and Panglao gateways since the Duterte administration decided to unbundle the five regional airports around the country instead of bidding it out as a P110 billion package.

The five regional airports are Davao, Laguindingan, Panglao, Bacolod and Iloilo.

CLC proposed to operate and maintain all of existing and project assets of the two airports, except those within the control of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), CLC president and CEO Chryss Alfonsus Damuy said.

“We will modernize both Davao and Panglao international airports into world-class airports without government subsidy by implementing the development in three phases with an estimated total project cost of P67 billion,” he said.

However, for economical viability of the project, the succeeding works after the development of Phase 1 shall be subject to the traffic growth requirements and compliance with the minimum performance standards, he added.

DOTr is now evaluating the unsolicited proposal as required under Republic Act 7718 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

CLC said airport traffic would grow to 15 million passengers in Davao and to 2.1 million passengers in Panglao by 2050.

“Bundling these two airports will create opportunities for improved domestic connectivity and international tourism city. The planned reconfiguration and expansion of passenger terminal buildings are also expected to provide a new level of convenience and comfort to the passengers and airport users,” Damuy said.

He said CLC could start the improvement of passenger experience next year, if the government approves the proposal this year.

According to CLC’s offer, Davao airport, known as the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, will be able to accommodate up to 30 hourly aircraft movements with the construction of a new full parallel taxiway.

Furthermore, by the end of the concession period, the airport’s cargo terminal will be almost three times its current capacity to keep up with expected air freight demand, while the Panglao International Airport ’s facility will have expanded by 25 percent more.

“We expect the enhanced air cargo channels of these airports will translate to a considerable increase in the cargo movements in the region, consequently, benefitting the logistics business of CLC,” Damuy said.

“We ensure that every project we undertake is aligned with our goal to be the preferred end-to-end supply chain logistics service provider in the country, and which will as a result, generate more value for our stakeholders and improve outcome for Filipinos,” he said.

CLC’s parent company is Udenna, which is composed of a dynamic group of companies engaged in diverse businesses including petroleum and oil (Phoenix Petroleum), shipping and logistics (CLC and 2Go), real estate and property development (Udevco), education (Enderun), and convenience stores (Family Mart).