The government of Philippines, through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), has separated the contract for the development, operation and maintenance of six airports, in two PPP projects.

During the Philippine Infrastructure Seminar, the DOTC has presented the two projects:

• Package A consists of the Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, and Bacolod-Silay airports worth P60.93 billion.

• Package B comprises of the Davao, Laguindingan, and New Bohol (Panglao) airports worth P66.9 billion.

The private partner will undertake the operation and maintenance of the airports as well as provide additional facilities and other necessary improvements to enhance passenger safety, security, access, passenger and cargo movement efficiency, and operational efficiency under a defined concession period.

The projects will be developed on an operate, add, and transfer (OAT) basis. The concession period will be 30 years.

Specifically, each project involves:

Puerto Princesa airport project involves the construction of a new landside facility on the northwestern side of the existing runway, the upgrade of airside structures, and putting in new air navigational and traffic control equipment to improve the airport's commercial and operational efficiency.

The contract value is P10.27 billion (US$232 million). The initial investment is estimated at P5.81 billion (US$131 million).

Davao airport project aims to decongest the airport which is currently operating beyond its capacity. It involves the upgrade of the passenger terminal building, the cargo terminal building and the expansion of other key facilities such as car parking, and administration building, among others.

The contract value is P40.57-billion (US$918 million). The initial investment is estimated at P5.89 billion (US$133 million).

Bacolod airport project involves the upgrade of the passenger terminal building, the cargo terminal building, the runway, a parallel taxiway and the expansion of other key facilities such as car parking, and administration building, among others.

The contract value is P20.26 billion (US$459 million). The initial investment is estimated at P3.6 billion (US$81 million).

Iloilo airport project will decongest the Iloilo Airport, which is currently operating overcapacity. It involves the upgrade of the passenger terminal building, the cargo terminal building and the expansion of other key facilities such as car parking, and administration building, among others.

The contract value is P30.4-billion (US$688 million). The initial investment is estimated at P4.01 billion (US$91 million).

New Bohol (Panglao) airport project involves the operation and maintenance of the New Bohol airport that will replace the existing Tagbilaran Airport. The New Bohol Airport will be built by the DOTC through the technical and financial assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Authority (JICA). The private partner will also provide the necessary capital investments to upgrade the capacity of the airport facility in terms of passengers, freight and Air Traffic Movement (ATM) within the timeframe set in the concession agreement.

The contract value is P11.71 billion (US$265 million). The initial investment is estimated at P4.57 billion (US$103 million).

Laguindingan airport project involves the expansion/construction of new passenger terminal(s), along with all associated infrastructure and facilities as per applicable standards; operation and maintenance of the passenger terminals (new and existing) during the entire concession period; development of airside facilities, including, among others, the apron, runway and taxiway; and enhancement/development of airside facilities to meet the enhanced scale of operations at the airport over the required duration.

The contract value is P14.62 billion (US$331 million). The initial investment is estimated at P2.26 billion (US$51 million).

The first four airport projects were approved in late October by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) together with the Davao Sasa Port and the Regional Prison Facilities PPP projects.

The other two airport projects were also approved by the NEDA in late June together with the Laguna Lakeshore expressway and dike project which is the biggest PPP project approved so far.