Bulacan airport Swiss challenge terms of reference issued by April 15

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to publish next week the terms of reference (TOR) for the Swiss challenge of the Bulacan airport proposal of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., which will officially kick off the bid process for the project.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the TOR or guidelines for the Swiss challenge would be published next week.

“Our undersecretary for planning has told me that we are ready to publish the TOR for Bulacan airport by April 15,” he said.

“In the next 90 to 120 days you have the window upon which the formal and final approval of Bulacan airport would have been completed,” Tugade said.

Once the TOR is published, other groups or companies will then have 60 days to give better offers than that of SMC’s proposal under the Swiss challenge.

Should there be an offer that is superior to SMC’s offer, the conglomerate led by tycoon Ramon Ang, having been granted the original proponent status by the government, has the right to match the offer.  

Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Tamayo earlier said awarding of the concession agreement for the Bulacan airport could take place by the third quarter.

The P754 billion airport development of San Miguel Holdings Corp. in Bulacan province, dubbed as the New Manila International Airport project, was granted approval by the NEDA chaired by President Duterte in April last year.

The project involves the construction of a world-class, major international gateway with four to six parallel runways, modern terminals, a seaport, an industrial zone, and necessary infrastructure such as expressways.

The development of the Bulacan airport is part of the DOTr’s multi-airport strategy to decongest Manila’s NAIA which serves as the country’s main international gateway.