NEDA BOARD APPROVES NEGOTIATION REPORT ON BULACAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

MANILA–The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved, on December 21, the report on the negotiation results of the Concession Agreement (CA) for the Bulacan International Airport project. 
 
The CA is between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and San Miguel Holdings Corporation (SMHC).  
 
The Bulacan International Airport project—an unsolicited public-private partnership (PPP) proposal—involves the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Airport on a 2,500-hectare land in Bulakan, Bulacan, north of Manila Bay.   
 
The proposal entails a total project cost of PhP735.63 billion. The original proponent, through an Unsolicited Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement, will assume the total project cost.   
 

Key features of the Bulacan International Airport CA include no government guarantee or any form of subsidy. 
 
 “These are substantial features, proving the project is adequately advantageous to the government,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia. 

“They certainly raise the bar on unsolicited PPP projects,” he added. 
 
Following the NEDA Board meeting, the DOTr will proceed with finalizing the Concession Agreement and convey the NEDA Board approval of the report to the proponent, SMHC.  
 
The revised CA will go through a final review of the Office of the Solicitor-General and the Department of Finance before it is advertised to parties for a Swiss Challenge.