The Gokongwei Group is set to team up again with the Gotinanun family to bid for the operation and maintenance of Clark International Airport in Pampanga province.
JG Summit president Lance Gokongwei said in a recent interview his group, along with Filinvest Development Corp., would jointly bid for the operation of Clark International Airport, which is seen as the alternative gateway to congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.
The Filinvest-JGS joint venture submitted a proposal in 2017 to develop, operate and maintain the commercial assets of Clark International Airport, including facilities for general aviation and fixed- base operations and real estate.
The government rejected the P839-billion unsolicited proposal and instead decided to conduct a public bidding for the project.
A pre-bidding conference recently conducted by state-run Bases Conversion Development Authority drew the interest of eight foreign and local groups that purchased bid documents for the 25-year contract to operate and maintain the airport.
The groups were Megawide Construction Corp., Metro Pacific Investment Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., San Miguel Holdings Corp., Prime Asset Venture of the Villar group, Central Luzon Infrastructure Consultancy Inc. consortium, India’s GVK Airport Developers Ltd., and France’s Groupe ADP.
Clark International Airport is the second main gateway to the country, and the new 100,000-square meter terminal will double its capacity to eight million passengers a year, boosting air transport capacity for the Greater Manila Area.
The project is expected to ease the strain on the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport, help create jobs and boost development in Central Luzon, a growing economic center.
Clark International Airport is envisioned to be Asia’s next premier gateway. It now has an annual capacity of four million passengers. Airlines operating in Clark include Qatar Airways, Cebu Pacific, Tigerair, Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Dragon Air, AirAsia Berhad, Philippine Airlines and Emirates Airlines.
These airlines mount flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Macau, Pudong, Incheon, Doha, Dubai, Davao, Cebu and Kalibo.
Submission of bids for operation and maintenance of Clark International Airport is scheduled on July 20, which will be followed by post-qualification on Aug. 7. Awarding of the O&M contract is expected on Aug. 30.
