CCCC to bid anew for Sangley airport

MANILA, Philippines — State-owned China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC) has again expressed its interest in developing the Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) project in Cavite after earlier losing the airport deal which was awarded to the company and its local partner MacroAsia Corp.

Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla said four companies have bought the bid documents for the SPIA: CCCC, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. (PAGSS) and Mosveldtt Law Office.

Both MPIC and PAGSS were among the companies that purchased bid documents for the SPIA project during its first auction in 2019, but did not submit an actual bid.

This time around, MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier told The STAR that the group is “interested in principle,” but still has no commitments at the moment.

CCCC and partner MacroAsia won the first bidding for the SPIA project, submitting the sole bid.

The airport deal awarded to the consortium, however, was terminated in January due to the various deficiencies of the submission of requirements to conclude the joint venture agreement, prompting the provincial government of Cavite to start anew with its search for a partner.

It is unclear if CCCC will still partner with MacroAsia should it decide to submit an offer.

CCCC had a 60 percent stake in the earlier consortium while MacroAsia held the minority 40 percent.

The STAR earlier reported that the provincial government of Cavite has fine-tuned a legal qualification requirement to address national security concerns in its search for a new partner for the SPIA project.

The Cavite government is now requiring that its joint venture partner should be Philippine majority-owned and controlled, whether it be a single entity or a consortium.

If a consortium, the Philippine corporation should at least own and control 51 percent of the equity or voting interest.

The interested company or consortium should also have a net worth of at least $1.6 billion or about P80 billion as part of the financial qualification requirement.

For the technical qualification requirement, the firm or consortium should have successfully built in the last 20 years at least one international airport development project with a minimum handling capacity of 12.5 million passengers per annum and at least one land reclamation development project.

The technical qualification requirement can be met either by the company itself, the members constituting the consortium, any of their affiliates or their nominated contractors.

The winning joint venture partner will be responsible for co-developing the airport project together with the province of Cavite, as well as provide the necessary equity investment, debt financing and credit enhancements.