President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. considered the rehabilitation of the Manila International Airport (MIA) as a great catch-up plan, urging the San Miguel Corp. and its consortium to abide by the contract stated under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

“In a nutshell, we are embarking, and we have to admit this on a fairly major catch-up plan,” Marcos said.

“So, let us be reminded that the bottom line of the Manila International Airport’s resurgence is not what it will bring to the coffers of our government but the comfort it will bring to its passengers,” he added.

The President made the remarks during the signing of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) PPP project concession agreement at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacanang on Monday. It was evaluated within a “record-breaking seven weeks” ? making it the fastest PPP project proposals to be approved in history.

Ramon Ang, SMC president and chief executive officer, said: ''Our vision for NAIA extends beyond mere rehabilitation. Together with our partner, Incheon, we have assembled a team of experts, focused on implementing immediate improvement, and help us achieve our long-term goal for NAIA.''

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued the notice of award to SMC-SAP and Co. Consortium. It is composed of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp. last Feb. 16.

With the signing of the concession agreement, the operations and maintenance of the airport will be handed over to the concessionaire on or before Sept. 2024.

During the pre-bidding conference, the group offered to share with the government 82.16 percent of future gross revenues, excluding passenger service charges.

The DOTr said once the NAIA modernization is complete, its runaway capacity will increase at least 48 air traffic movements at peak hourly rate.

The airport's passenger capacity is expected to accommodate 62 million passengers annually from the current 35 million.

The President said the fast flow of passengers, arriving and departing, must be guaranteed inside a terminal that is “clean and comfortable.”

At the same time, the project will also mobilize approximately P88 billion in capital investments within its first six years of operation, which is more than eight times the disbursed capital investments for the Manila International Airport since 2010, Marcos said.

He added that the private sector will also pay the government of around P1.052 trillion in the next 15 years, or so, which is more than 15 times the amount remitted by the airport to the national government since 2010. DMS