Villar firm denied Iloilo airport proposal, gov’t seeks other bids

MANILA, Philippines — The government has denied the Villar Group its first airport project and would instead accept offers from other proponents in line with its direction to privatize the country’s gateways.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will be handing over the operations and maintenance of the Iloilo International Airport to a private group, but through a solicited process.

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center executive director Rizza Blanco-Latorre said the Villar proposal to manage the airport has been terminated by the DOTr.

Villar-owned builder Prime Asset Ventures Inc. (PAVI) had bagged the original proponent status (OPS) to operate and maintain the Iloilo International Airport. The offer, costing P21.27 billion, had aimed to expand the airport’s capacity to prepare it for future traffic.

“It has been terminated, the OPS (of PAVI). The government in general is looking at doing more solicited projects for airports moving forward,” Blanco-Latorre said.

The Iloilo International Airport is in need of capacity expansion as it is operating at more than twice its actual design.

In an analysis, the Institute of Contemporary Economics (ICE) said the airport’s passenger terminal building was made to facilitate just 1.2 million guests a year, but it has been handling an average of 2.79 million recently.

ICE said the lack of additional capacity is costing Iloilo at least P1 billion annually, as airlines are prohibited from adding new flights, limiting travel options.

By turning to a solicited process, the DOTr will be looking for fresh offers from other investors. Blanco-Latorre said the DOTr is more confident now on the solicited path, following the success of large-scale PPPs, such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The country’s main gateway was one of the hardest to turn over to the private sector. However, in 2024, the DOTr succeeded in bidding out its P170.6-billion concession, bagged by a San Miguel Corp.-led group.

“Given the experience that the government has accumulated over the years in processing PPP for airports, they are more equipped to do solicited (process) now,” Blanco-Latorre said.

PAVI, for its part, could still add an airport project to its portfolio, if the government approves its P11.63-billion offer to rehabilitate the Puerto Princesa International Airport in Palawan.