By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter
THE Cavite provincial government is once again inviting firms to submit joint venture proposals for the Sangley international airport project, less than a month after it canceled an earlier deal with MacroAsia Corp. and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
In an announcement published on Monday, the Cavite government said the project feasibility study including schedules and updates, instructions to candidate joint venture partners, and the draft joint venture and development agreement will be available for distribution to interested parties from Mach 1 to March 30.
Interested parties should first submit an intent letter, sign the nondisclosure agreement, and pay the non-refundable participation fee of P1 million or $20,000 before they could obtain copies of the bid documents from the Cavite government, which serves as the implementing agency for the project.
Among the responsibilities of Cavite’s joint venture partner is to provide the necessary equity investment, debt financing, and credit enhancements.
The selected partner should also secure or perform engineering, procurement, and construction services for the land and airport development components of the 1,500-hectare Sangley airport project.
The Cavite provincial government said the deadline for the submission of the proposals is on May 4.
“Under the terms of the project’s no objection clearance from the Department of Transportation, no sovereign loan or National Government guarantee will be granted,” it said.
In a phone message to BusinessWorld, Cavite’s Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee Legal Officer Jesse R. Grepo said: “As of now, we haven’t received any formal inquiries yet.”
He noted there were some groups who expressed their intent, but did not submit bids.
“I can’t assume if the same are still interested now,” he added.
Only the MacroAsia-CCCC tandem submitted a proposal to develop the Sangley airport in 2019. Other groups that bought bid documents for the project were Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC); Prime Asset Ventures, Inc.; Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc.; Langham Properties, Inc.; and Mosveldtt Law Offices.
“If still interested, previously registered entities that bought the request for proposals (bid documents) during the first competitive selection process launched in October 2019 would have to submit a new written expression of intent, update their registration details, and pay the renewal fee of P25,000 or $500,” the Cavite provincial government said.
The provincial government reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal, or to discontinue the second competitive joint venture selection process.
Cavite informed the MacroAsia-CCCC tandem on Jan. 26 of its decision to cancel the notice of selection and award for the Sangley airport project it had issued on Feb. 12, 2020.
Cavite Governor Juanito Victor “Jonvic” C. Remulla, Jr. said the “various deficiencies in the submission of requirements to conclude the joint venture agreement” led to the province’s decision.
MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and MacroAsia Chief Financial Officer Amador T. Sendin had yet to respond to BusinessWorld‘s requests for comment.
MPIC is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group.