The consortium of Megawide Constructions Corp. and India-based GMR Infrastructure have formally appealed to overturn the revocation of its original proponent status (OPS) for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation.
In a letter dated December 21 penned by Megawide-GMR Consortium representative Manuel Louie B. Ferrer, the group stressed the decision to cancel its OPS was “based on an incomplete set of facts/documents” since the additional paper backing its financial muscle was not considered when the decision of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) was made.
It also urged the government to reconsider its move as the group only held the OPS for five months.
“We respectfully point out as well that since the Government had negotiated with the earlier proponents — otherwise known as the ‘Super Consortium’ — for two years, it would be in keeping with good practice and fair play for us to be also afforded a reasonable period within which to negotiate with the government and submit all the necessary documents to show our capabilities,” it said.
“Since the issuance of our OPS in July 2020, it has only been five months till the MIAA Board’s decision to revoke the OPS. We therefore believe that our additional submissions in November December must be considered and we appeal to the Government for reconsideration on this matter,” the group added.
Following this development, The Passenger Forum (TPF) on Monday urged aviation authorities to swiftly act on Megawide’s request.
“It is in the interest of passengers to ensure that the NAIA rehabilitation project will push through in the soonest possible time.
We just hope that Megawide’s submissions are sufficient to prove they are qualified in rehabilitating our primary international gateway,” Primo Morillo, TPF convenor, said in a statement.
The group had to deal with critics questioning its capacity to finance the massive project. In response, Megawide sought to boost its financial muscle by tapping GMR, with the latter committing to shoulder 40 percent of the spending.
Megawide and GMR secured the original proponent status last July after the so-called super consortium of six tycoons failed to get the government’s approval for their proposed options that were eyed to ensure the multi-billion project would be bankable despite the “new normal” brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.