THE P30-billion upfront payment from San Miguel Corporation-led New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) public-private partnership (PPP) project will boost the government’s non-tax revenue stream, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said yesterday.
In March, San Miguel released the P30 billion upfront payment for the NAIA project.
Recto said the remittance was cleared with the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Monday, Sept. 16, following the official turnover of the NAIA’s operations and maintenance (O&M) to New NAIA Infra Corp. on Sept. 14.
“We are hitting two birds with one stone on this project. This will not only transform NAIA into a world-class airport but also guarantees the government a healthy income stream from the private sector operator,” Recto said.
Aside from the upfront payment, San Miguel will also provide a fixed P2 billion annual payment and 82.16 percent national government revenue share, excluding passenger service charges.
“The P30 billion is just the upfront payment from the private sector partner. As the project finally takes off, the government is expected to generate roughly P900 billion in revenues from this deal over the entire term, which is a 15-year concession period, extendable by another 10 years,” Recto said.
He added: “This will be equivalent to a revenue source of more or less PHP36 billion annually to fund more projects in education, public health and infrastructure.”
With an estimated project cost of P170.6 billion, the proposal to rehabilitate NAIA is the largest PPP project under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Led by the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport as co-grantors of the solicited PPP, the NAIA rehabilitation is expected to increase airport capacity from 35 million passengers annually to 62 million and expand air traffic movements per hour from 40 to 48. (PNA)
