The awarding of the winning bidder for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport modernization is expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2024 barring any hinges as the deadline for submission for bids has been set on 27 December 2023, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Friday.

On the sidelines of the NAIA Public-Private Partnership Pre-Bid Conference at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Headquarters in Pasig City, Secretary Bautista pointed out the high turnout of participants during the NAIA Roadshow in Paris and Singapore.

"We had more than 200 participants in Paris. In Paris, we had two days of roadshow also. Those who attended in person and online is around 50 in Singapore," Secretary Bautista said.

According to the transport chief, at least six companies have bought bid documents for the airport's privatization.

"The first one is GMR, second is San Miguel, third is the Manila International Airport Consortium, fourth is SPARC 888, fifth is Asian Airport Consortium, and sixth is IGA of Turkey," he said, adding that the Department of Transportation is expecting the firms to participate during the bidding.

Under the NAIA PPP concessionaire agreement, the winning bidder will be given 15 years to rehabilitate the airport's passenger terminals and airside facilities; develop commercial assets and utility systems; provide surface access facilities that enable intermodal transfer at the airport, inter-terminal passenger transfer facilities and services, among others.

In extending the agreement for another 10 years, the DOTr will discuss with the concessionaire a possible extension on the eight years of the contract based on several key performance indicators (KPIs), Undersecretary for Planning Timothy John Batan said.

"The extension will be conducted or the discussion will be on year 8. The extension is based on performance by the winning bidder, based on certain KPIs," Usec. Batan said.

Usec. Batan explained that if the concessionaire fails to fulfill one of the conditions set under the KPIs, the DOTr will not grant an extension for another 10 years.

"If there is a flagrant violation of the concession, there will be no extension. But if there is no flagrant violation, there will be an extension," he explained.

Among possible KPIs, which Usec. Batan said, are the same KPIs for Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Clark International Airport including the amount of time for check-in, the amount of time for immigration and security checks, Usec. Batan said.