MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed its full support for the signing of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project Concession Agreement between the Philippine government and the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Consortium.
In a statement, the DOT believes that the signing of the agreement “marks a pivotal moment” in the government’s commitment to elevate the standards of transportation and tourism infrastructure in the Philippines.
“With the redevelopment going beyond the physical design and structure of the Philippines' primary gateway, the NAIA PPP Project symbolizes the Marcos Administration’s dedication to improving infrastructure and enhancing the overall passenger experience and service quality at the country's primary gateway which our National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028 concretely envisions,” DOT said.
As the tourism sector continues to play a pivotal role in the Philippines' economic growth and development, the modernization of NAIA reinforces this administration’s commitment to fostering a conducive environment for tourism prosperity, it added.
The DOT also mentioned that it is looking forward to the outcomes of the collaboration between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the SMC SAP & Co. Consortium, particularly in reaching the target capacity of 62 million travellers from 35 million.
With this, the DOT is anticipating the positive impact it will have on tourism arrivals in the country which can help expand employment opportunities in the tourism industry.
The DOT also sees the privatization of NAIA as only the first of the many initiatives that the national government, together with the private sector, should pursue to improve the country’s gateways, to include the secondary airports and various seaports across the country.
Photo courtesy of Department of Tourism (DOT)
The signing of the agreement was signed Monday, and witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
In his speech, Marcos described the NAIA privatization project as “an investment in our future”.
"This undertaking is not just about revenues that will be remitted to treasury alone, but resources invested in the airport and in many ways, it is an investment in our future,'' Marcos said in a speech.
Meanwhile, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista announced earlier that the winning bidder of the PHP170.6-billion NAIA PPP project is the SMC-SAP & Company Consortium, made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp.
According to Bautista, the winning group offered the highest percentage share from operating the airport, with an 82.16 percent share of its future gross revenues.
