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Friday, March 29, 2024

MPIC’s airport partner pulls out

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Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said Wednesday its foreign airport partner for the bidding of five provincial airports pulled out after the Transportation Department unbundled the airport projects. 

“Our foreign partner has notified us that they’re pulling out of the airports because the unbundling resulted in the individual airport being too small. If they win just one of the smaller airports, it would place them in a difficult situation because they would not be able to get the returns they need but at the same time difficult to operate,” MPIC president and chief executive Jose Ma. Lim said.

“Rather than take that risk, they decided to withdraw,” Lim said.

Metro Pacific teamed up with Aeroports de Paris Management SA for the provincial airports. 

Lim said the company was looking for a new foreign airport operator partner to bid for the five regional airports.

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The unbundled five provincial airports include the P20.26-billion Bacolod-Silay International Airport and the P30.4-billion Iloilo International Airport, the P14.62-billion Laguindingan Airport, P2.34-billion New Bohol (Panglao) Airport and P40.57-billion Davao International Airport.

The  National Economic and Development Authority board approved on Nov. 14, 2016 the unbundling of the airport PPP deals. 

Aside from MPIC, the Transportation Department earlier pre-qualified Maya Consortium led by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, San Miguel Holdings Corp.-IIAC Airport Consortium, GMR-Megawide Consortium and Filinvest-JATCO-Sojitz Consortium for the project.

The Transportation Department said aside from the previous pre-qualified bidders, the project was now also open to new bidders. 

Meanwhile, MPIC said core net income went up 17 percent last year to P12.1 billion  from P10.3 billion in 2015.

MPIC allocated P79 billion for 2017 capital expenditures, or nearly double the P40.5-billion capex last year as the group plans to accelerate the expansion of power, tollways, water and hospital businesses.

Metro Pacific chief finance officer David Nicol said in a news briefing said the group budgeted P24 billion in capital expenditures for Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., P22 billion for Manila Electric Co., P13 billion for Maynilad Water Services and the remainder for other units including hospital, railway and logistics.

MPTC plans to break ground on four big-ticket projects over the next two years, including the P19-billion Cavite Laguna Expressway, the P27.9-billion Cebu-Cordova bridge project, the P12.7-billion C-5 Link Expressway and the P21.8-billion connector road project that will link North Luzon and South Luzon Expressway.

Maynilad’s P13.2 billion programmed spending would primarily be used for its water and wastewater infrastructure projects and for water sources and water loss recovery projects.

The group’s hospital business is also looking to acquire 15 new hospitals over the next year five years to achieve its target of 5,000 beds.

It is also studying plans to build its first greenfield hospital.

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