The bid submission is set for end-November and the winning bidder is expected to break ground by the first quarter of 2020.

Construction and engineering conglomerate DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI) on Tuesday said it has not considered pursuing participation in the development of the Sangley Airport into an international gateway.

In a chance interview, DMCI Vice President Dwight David A. Ta-ala said the airport project was “not in our radar.”

This was contrary to Cavite Governor Juanito Victor Remulla’s recent statement the DM Consunji Group was one of six firms interested in updating the airport. The others include Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the SM Group, the Ayala Group, and a Chinese construction company.

“As far as I know, some of the works at the Sangley Airport already started and they awarded it to some other (contractors),” Ta-ala told reporters.

Last week, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) they were invited to attend a pre-bidding conference for the Sangley Airport.

The Sangley Airport project costs roughly $10 billion, including the land and airside components and reclamation which will be “a pure local endeavor.”

According to Gov. Remulla, the bid submission is set for end-November and the winning bidder is expected to break ground by the first quarter of 2020.

The provincial government of Cavite originally submitted the project as an unsolicited proposal to the Department of Transportation. However, the complexity of its nature and the huge costs of construction prompted the city to partner with the private sector.

Sangley Airport is in an airport complex on a 1,400-hectare property in Sangley, Cavite.

Once completed, it will have four runways and a terminal capacity to service 100 million passengers yearly.