CLARK FREEPORT – In sight is an end to the failed biddings and questioned bidders that hounded and hampered the development of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.
Well within grasp is the realization of the DMIA’s full potential as the country’s emergent premier international gateway.
This in the wake of the proposal of ALMAL Investments Co., a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti mega developer M.A. Kharafi Projects, of a total investment value of $1.2 billion.
In a media briefing, Architect Nestor S. Mangio, Clark international Airport Corp. (CIAC) board chairman, said the proposal that was relayed to him on December 24, 2009, covered all civil components of the DMIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3 plus the adjacent 1,500 hectares in the aviation complex “strictly following the CIAC original master plan.”
According to Mangio, ALMAL committed a total of $100 million to the development of Terminal 2, “representing Phase 1” and expected to be finished within two years after the signing of a joint venture agreement between the CIAC and the Kuwaiti company.
The Terminal 2 project will have a total floor area of 35,000 square meters and a capacity of 7 million passengers per year. The ALMAL proposal covered airport equipment; the airport and transport plazas and covered parking areas; the expansion of existing apron facilities; the widening, improvement and construction of access roads with interchanges; the demolition of some existing buildings; the development of a new identity and signature; and site and utilities development.
Mangio said that ALMAL offered to put up power and water utilities if deemed necessary for unhampered airport operations.
In its “unsolicited proposal,” ALMAL will form a joint venture company (JVC) with CIAC on a 70-30 sharing scheme, CIAC getting the 30 percent share for contributing the leasehold rights over the land.
CIAC will neither contribute cash nor issue a government guarantee, Mangio stressed.
The joint venture will have a duration of 45 years, renewable for another 25 years, “subject to mutual agreement of the parties and the limitations imposed by the laws, rules and regulations of the Philippines.”
Upon signing, Mangio said, ALMAL would undertake “a complete review of the feasibility study and develop a final business plan…to define the components and phases of development for the medium and long-term agreement.
On top of the proposal, Mangio stressed, is an “upfront non-refundable goodwill money of P100 million” that ALMAL-Pride Consortium will pay CIAC upon signing and execution of the concession agreement.
No sweetheart deal
Mangio clarified that the proposal was “neither a sweetheart deal nor a midnight deal” saying that ALMAL made its first offer in March 2008 and negotiations had been on-going since then.
“The CIAC Board has found the proposal acceptable,” Mangio said. “It will next be submitted to competitive challenge.”
He added that even those who participated in previous biddings would be allowed to challenge the ALMAL proposal “within a period of 30 days from after a week of its publication.”
Global reach
M.A. Kharafi projects started as a trading company in Kuwait 100 years ago. It is currently involved in investments, construction, manufacturing, airlines, with an annual turnover of $4 billion.
It has established permanent branches in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia and operates in over 25 countries with more than 100,000 employees.
Well within grasp is the realization of the DMIA’s full potential as the country’s emergent premier international gateway.
This in the wake of the proposal of ALMAL Investments Co., a subsidiary of the Kuwaiti mega developer M.A. Kharafi Projects, of a total investment value of $1.2 billion.
In a media briefing, Architect Nestor S. Mangio, Clark international Airport Corp. (CIAC) board chairman, said the proposal that was relayed to him on December 24, 2009, covered all civil components of the DMIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3 plus the adjacent 1,500 hectares in the aviation complex “strictly following the CIAC original master plan.”
According to Mangio, ALMAL committed a total of $100 million to the development of Terminal 2, “representing Phase 1” and expected to be finished within two years after the signing of a joint venture agreement between the CIAC and the Kuwaiti company.
The Terminal 2 project will have a total floor area of 35,000 square meters and a capacity of 7 million passengers per year. The ALMAL proposal covered airport equipment; the airport and transport plazas and covered parking areas; the expansion of existing apron facilities; the widening, improvement and construction of access roads with interchanges; the demolition of some existing buildings; the development of a new identity and signature; and site and utilities development.
Mangio said that ALMAL offered to put up power and water utilities if deemed necessary for unhampered airport operations.
In its “unsolicited proposal,” ALMAL will form a joint venture company (JVC) with CIAC on a 70-30 sharing scheme, CIAC getting the 30 percent share for contributing the leasehold rights over the land.
CIAC will neither contribute cash nor issue a government guarantee, Mangio stressed.
The joint venture will have a duration of 45 years, renewable for another 25 years, “subject to mutual agreement of the parties and the limitations imposed by the laws, rules and regulations of the Philippines.”
Upon signing, Mangio said, ALMAL would undertake “a complete review of the feasibility study and develop a final business plan…to define the components and phases of development for the medium and long-term agreement.
On top of the proposal, Mangio stressed, is an “upfront non-refundable goodwill money of P100 million” that ALMAL-Pride Consortium will pay CIAC upon signing and execution of the concession agreement.
No sweetheart deal
Mangio clarified that the proposal was “neither a sweetheart deal nor a midnight deal” saying that ALMAL made its first offer in March 2008 and negotiations had been on-going since then.
“The CIAC Board has found the proposal acceptable,” Mangio said. “It will next be submitted to competitive challenge.”
He added that even those who participated in previous biddings would be allowed to challenge the ALMAL proposal “within a period of 30 days from after a week of its publication.”
Global reach
M.A. Kharafi projects started as a trading company in Kuwait 100 years ago. It is currently involved in investments, construction, manufacturing, airlines, with an annual turnover of $4 billion.
It has established permanent branches in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia and operates in over 25 countries with more than 100,000 employees.
