Aboitiz’s Bohol airport O&M plan eyed for Swiss challenge in Q1

January 17, 2024

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DOTR PHOTO

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said companies wishing to match the proposal of Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. — which now owns a 33% stake in the Mactan Cebu International Airport — to operate, maintain, and expand the New Bohol-Panglao International Airport may have their chance this quarter.

“The Bohol [airport]… will be ready for the Swiss challenge by the first quarter,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista told reporters on Wednesday.

Aboitiz InfraCapital, the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz group, has also submitted proposals for the operations, maintenance, and development of Bicol International Airport in Southern Luzon and Laguindingan International Airport in Northern Mindanao.

“Negotiations for Bohol (airport) is ongoing,” Cosette V. Canilao, Aboitiz InfraCapital president and chief executive officer, said in a phone message to BusinessWorld.

DoTr Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan previously mentioned plans to invite other parties to challenge the Aboitiz group’s proposal for Laguindingan International Airport in Misamis Oriental in the first quarter. The Swiss challenge allows other companies to submit alternative proposals to a project, with the original proponent having the right to match them.

“The Laguindingan process will set the tone. Once the negotiated terms for Laguindingan are approved, then we’ll have more confidence that the government is really committed to the PPP (public-private partnership) program,” Ms. Canilao said.

The Aboitiz group secured in 2018 the original proponent status for the New Bohol-Panglao International Airport’s operations and maintenance (O&M) under a 25-year concession period.

“The parameters, terms and conditions have already been approved by NEDA,” Mr. Bautista said.

“After that, we will report to NEDA, then it will be ready for the Swiss challenge maybe within the first quarter also,” he added.

The Bohol-Panglao International Airport in the Visayas is one of the four high-impact projects approved by NEDA in October last year.

Valued at P4.5 billion through a public-private partnership scheme, this airport upgrade project is expected to serve approximately 3.9 million passengers per year once completed, up from its current capacity of two million passengers.

Aboitiz InfraCapital is also a member of MIAC consortium, one of the four groups that have submitted bids for the P170.6-billion PPP project to upgrade the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.