GMR-Megawide submits $3-bn proposal to redevelop, decongest Manila airport

The GMR-Megawide consortium that manages the Mactan-Cebu international airport in the Philippines has submitted a $3-billion proposal to decongest and redevelop the Ninoy Aquino international airport in Manila.
 

According to a regulatory filing by Megawide to the Philippines Stock Exchange in Manila, the $3 billion redevelopment proposal involves increasing the capital city's airport's capacity to 950-1,000 aircraft movements a day from the present 730 movements and take the overall passenger handling capacity to 72 million per annum.
 

The Mactan-Cebu international airport is the second largest airport in the Pacific island nation and is operated by the GMR Group and Megawide in a 40:60 joint venture.
 

According to the Manila International Airport Authority, the city's aerodrome handled nearly 37 million passengers (domestic and international) in 2017.
 

"As an experienced private operator, we have a deep understanding of the problem experienced by the Manila airport and we would like offer our solution. Our team has transformed the New Delhi international airport as one of the top five in the world today.
 

"We've also transformed the Mactan-Cebu airport in the Philippines, which was previously overlooked, into the best regional airport in Asia Pacific in 2016. We hope to contribute our knowledge from these projects to develop the main gateway of the Philippines,"Louie Ferrer,a representative of the consortium, was quoted as saying in the filing.
 

GMR operates the Indira Gandhi international airport in New Delhi and the Rajiv Gandhi international airport in Hyderabad, apart from the Mactan Cebu international airport in the Philippines.
 

GMR is also developing the upcoming greenfield Goa international airport at Mopa through a public-private partnership model but is fully owned by the group.
 

"The GMR-Megawide proposal is valued at $3 billion.

Investment includes all airside, terminal, and landside improvements.It is divided into three phases," it says. 
 

After taking over operations, the consortium will also expand the existing terminals, which will roughly double the space and result in over 700,000 sqm of terminal area, it further said.
 

"Once completed, both the airside facilities and the terminals shall be able to handle 72 million passengers annually," it added.

The consortium proposes a shorter concession term of 18 years which is unprecedented in an airport PPP of this size across the world, Ferrer claimed.