By Ashley Erika O. Jose, A reporter
ABOITIZ InfraCapital, Inc. is determined to develop and operate many regional airports in the country, said its president.
“If it’s something that can happen to us, from a business perspective, we will definitely participate,” said Aboitiz InfraCapital President and CEO Cosette V. Canilao on the sidelines of the BusinessWorld Forecast 2025 forum on Tuesday.
The Department of Transportation expects to start the process of selecting a company to manage and operate the Davao International Airport next year.
The agency said it plans to provide the Davao airport with the requested mod after it signed a transaction advisory service agreement with International Finance Corp.
Three other airports are slated to go private next year – Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, and Kalibo airports. These airports are expected to face challenges in Switzerland.
Asked if Aboitiz InfraCapital is interested in challenging the original promoter of the Iloilo airport, Ms. Canilao said the company will re-evaluate the terms. “We’ll see. I won’t say we’ll go for it. But we’ll definitely check it out.”
The group submitted an unsolicited proposal for the development and improvement of the Iloilo International Airport. However, Prime Asset Ventures Inc. was granted first sponsor status for its proposal to operate, maintain and expand the airport.
The Aboitiz group’s infrastructure division will take over the operations and maintenance, respectively, of the region’s two airports – New Bohol-Panglao International Airport and Laguindingan International Airport 2025.
For the new Bohol-Panglao International Airport, the company will partner with the same foreign company that operated the Laguindingan International Airport, Ms. Canilao said.
Last month, Aboitiz InfraCapital said it will partner with Ireland-based daa International to develop and operate the Laguindingan International Airport in Misamis Oriental.
For both regional airports, Aboitiz InfraCapital said that development and improvement efforts will begin in early 2025.
According to the timetable set by the Department of Transportation, the government will hand over the operation of the Laguindingan and Bohol airports to a private operator in April and June, respectively.
Aboitiz InfraCapital plans to expand Laguindingan’s capacity, he said, adding that it wants to improve facilities and improve traffic at Bohol Airport.
“In Laguindingan, we will deal with that immediately,” said Ms. Canilao. “In Bohol, it doesn’t need that much maintenance… We need to improve traffic because there are rooms to allow tourists to enter.”
Aboitiz InfraCapital has also fully taken over the Mactan-Cebu International Airport after acquiring the remaining equity stake of Megawide Construction Corp. at the airport.
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