This article is part of a daily series of MegaProjects articles. If you want to know more about PPP projects with a considerable size visit our MegaProjects section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.

The government of Philippines has announced that procurement of the much-anticipated Regional Airport PPP Projects has been terminated.

The government, through the implementing agencies, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), decided that the projects would be implemented through other modes. DOTr will use Official Development Assistance (ODA) or General Appropriations Act (GAA) funding.

The project involves the development, operations and maintenance of five unbundled airports projects, which are namely Bacolod-Silay, Davao, Iloilo, Laguindingan, and New Bohol (Panglao).

The Regional Airport PPP Projects were originally approved under a bundled PPP structure by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and the NEDA Board. With the approval, a transparent and credible PPP procurement process commenced following the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law and its implementing rules and regulations. This generated strong interest from the private sector, as evidenced by the active participation of highly-qualified local and international players. 

During the previous administration, the government pre-qualified the following groups to bid for the project:

• Filinvest-Jatco-Sojitz Consortium, composed of Filinvest Development Corporation; Japan Airport Terminal Co., Ltd; Sojitz Corporation;,
• GMR Infrastructure and Megawide Consortium, composed of Megawide Construction Corporation; GMR Infrastructure (Singapore) Pte. Limited (GISPL),
• Maya Consortium, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc; VINCI Airports SAS;
• Philippine Airports Consortium, composed of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation; Philippines Airport Management Compan; 
• and SMHC-IIAC Airport Consortium, composed of San Miguel Holdings Corporation; Incheon International Airport Corporation.

In November 2016, the NEDA Board approved the unbundling of the five airport projects. This meant an adjustment in the procurement processes’ milestones such as the pre-qualification and bid submission dates targeted in June and December 2017, respectively.

In the country, the effectiveness of the PPP program is shown by the awarded PPP projects that are now benefitting countless Filipinos – the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Passenger Terminal Building, NAIA Expressway, PPP for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP), and the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) or Beep Card, to name a few.

It is clear that PPPs remain as a viable option in the procurement of infrastructure projects, especially those that require an integrated approach (i.e. design-build-operate-maintain) in order to save on procurement timing, reduce interface risks, and avail of private sector’s technology and efficiency.