Dennis Uy airport proposals may soon get OPS

MANILA, Philippines — Two unsolicited proposals to develop and operate regional airports from Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy are poised to gain headway this month, according to a transport official. 

Transportation Undersecretary for aviation Manuel Tamayo told The STAR that Udenna Infrastructure Corp.’s unsolicited offers for the expansion, augmentation, operations, and maintenance of Bacolod-Silay Airport and the Busuanga Airport in Palawan are next in line for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)’s approval this month.

Once these proposals are presented to the board, Tamayo said it is possible that they would be granted the sought-after original proponent status (OPS) “if there are no issues from the board.”

Securing an OPS will give a group or a company the right to match offers from other parties when a Swiss challenge is conducted for the project.

The Bacolod-Silay Airport was one of the five regional airports that were supposed to be offered under a bundled public-private partnership structure prior to a policy shift from the Department of Transportation.

Two unsolicited proposals for the Bacolod-Silay Airport were submitted to CAAP last December, one from Udenna and the other from Airtrav Inc. CAAP said priority was given to the company who submitted a complete proposal first.

Meanwhile, the Busuanga Airport, also known as Francisco B. Reyes Airport, is a principal class 2 airport located in Coron town. It handles at least 16 domestic flights daily from carriers, Cebgo, PAL Express, Skyjet, and Air Juan.

Securing an OPS for the Busuanga and Bacolod-Silay airports will bring to three the projects in which the Udenna group has gained an upper hand. 

Uy, through Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., in October last year secured an OPS from the DOTr for its P49-billion unsolicited proposal for the Davao International Airport.

Aside from airports, Uy’s Chelsea in August last year submitted an P11.2-billion unsolicited proposal to the Philippine Ports Authority for the modernization of the Davao Sasa port.

Udenna, for its part, has secured an OPS from the DOTr for the development and management of monorail system in Davao. Udenna is also part of a consortium that is set to become the country’s third telecommunications player.