By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) will award Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. the P4.53-billion contract for the operations and maintenance of the New Bohol-Panglao International Airport after no bids were received by the Nov. 11 deadline, an official said.
“No challenge has been submitted by any challenger during the comparative challenge period for this project,” Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan, who chairs the pre-qualification bids and awards committee, announced on Monday.
He said the bids and awards committee has recommended issuing the notice of award to the project’s original proponent.
As per the DoTr’s schedule, the notice of award to the winning bidder will be issued on Nov. 28, and the official handover of the airport’s operations and maintenance to the private operator will take place on June 22, 2025.
“Considering that we have not received a comparative proposal for this project, we hereby recommend that we proceed with the next step which is submission of the recommendation to the heads of agencies for the issuance of notice of award to the original proponent,” the bids and awards committee said.
The concession agreement for the New Bohol-Panglao International Airport covers a 30-year period, according to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center.
The contract involves upgrades, expansion, and maintenance of the airport within a 30-year period from the start of the turnover.
The project is among the government’s flagship infrastructure initiatives for 2024.
“If there’s no challenger, yes [we will be awarded] the contract. We will be taking a foreign partner. It is part of the requirements of the government to have a technical service provider,” Aboitiz InfraCapital President and Chief Executive Officer Cosette V. Canilao told BusinessWorld last week.
“This was expected and further reinforced my position that huge and complex infrastructure projects, when done through PPP should better be procured through the solicited mode rather than wait for unsolicited proposals,” Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on public-private partnerships at the technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc., said in a Viber message.
He said that while unsolicited PPP projects are acceptable, it would be more beneficial for the government to handle large infrastructure projects with complex operations, such as airports, through a solicited process due to the specialized expertise required.
“This will attract interest from many possible proponents since they will come from an equal and balanced position in the bidding,” he added.
“The government should present a study whether proceeding with this unsolicited proposal will ultimately be beneficial to government and the public, given the success of solicited bidding for the NAIA rehabilitation in reducing the total cost of the project,” said Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of InfraWatch PH.
More airports are expected to be privatized next year, including the Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, and Kalibo airports.
The infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz group is also set to take over the operations and maintenance of the P12.75-billion Laguindingan International Airport in Misamis Oriental next year.
The group is partnering with Ireland-based daa International for the upgrade and operations of the Laguindingan International Airport in Northern Mindanao.
The DoTr said previously that it expects to launch the competitive tender for the Davao International Airport under a PPP program.
“We are going to look at the terms. Definitely, we will review the scope of the term,” the Aboitiz group’s Ms. Canilao said in response to a question about the company’s interest in bidding for the Davao airport.
Villar-led Prime Asset Ventures, Inc. holds the original proponent status for both P14.7-billion Iloilo International Airport and P10.24-billion Puerto Princesa International Airport, according to the PPP Center website.
Meanwhile, Mega7 Construction Corp. has submitted an unsolicited proposal to operate, upgrade and maintain the P3.62-billion Kalibo International Airport.