Follow Clark template, NAIA Consortium told

MANILA, Philippines — The  country’s top conglomerates which are seeking to redevelop the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) needs to follow the Clark template if they want their proposal to move forward, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade told The STAR.

Tugade said the standards set by the Department of Transportation  for the successful bidding of the Clark International Airport last December must be followed.

“If they (the consortium) don’t like the Clark template, we cannot move forward,” Tugade said on the sidelines of the pe-State of the Nation Address (SONA) economic and infrastructure forum Monday.

Members of the NAIA Consortium are not comfortable with the Clark template because of some provisions that are deemed risky. The group, however, has agreed to comply.

The seven consortium members are Ayala Corp., Aboitiz Group’s Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., Lucio Tan-led Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., the Gotianuns’ Filinvest Development Corp., the Gokongwei Group’s JG Summit Holdings Inc., and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Sought for comment, a member of the NAIA Consortium said the group would have to readjust its profitability expectations to comply with the Clark template.

“We will comply. We will make adjustments,”  the source said.

Tugade said the Clark Airport contract is deemed as the best template for the government as it assigned risks to the private sector.

The Clark project was bagged by the group of JG Summit Holdings, Filinvest Development and Changi Airports Philippines.

JG and Filinvest are also members of the NAIA Consortium.

Another source in the consortium said since the Clark project covers only operations and maintenance or 0&M, its risks are less compared to the NAIA rehabilitation.

The NAIA proposal, on the other hand, involves expanding and interconnecting the existing terminals of NAIA, upgrading airside facilities, developing commercial facilities to increase airline and airport efficiencies, enhancing passenger comfort and experience, and elevating the status of NAIA as the country’s premier international gateway.

The contentious issue in the Clark contract is the condition that would trigger compensation or support for the private concessionaire, otherwise known as a material adverse government action (Maga).