The  P170.6-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport, or NAIA, rehabilitation is on track, and the actual turnover of operatorship to the private sector by September will not result in job losses for employees of the Manila International Airport Authority, or MIAA.

In an interview, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista pledged to make sure that the privatization process is transparent and fair, and that all stakeholders, including MIAA employees, are consulted and their concerns are addressed.

Presently, the DoTr is working with the MIAA to develop a transition plan that will ensure the smooth and orderly transfer of operations to the private sector.

"We have to transfer the MIAA employees to the private sector. We will also identify assets that will be transferred to the private sector and that might take about three months. The target is really to have them done no later than six months after the award in September," Bautista said.

"For employees, it's either you stay with the MIAA as a regulator or you stay with the private sector as an operator. It depends on your job but everyone will be given an offer. There will be no job losses," he added.

Schedule stays

The NAIA rehabilitation of NAIA is a key priority of the current administration as a way to improve the efficiency and quality of services at the country's main international airport.

Bautista said that the privatization process is on schedule, with the winning bidder to be announced in mid-February. The transport chief also emphasized that the government will consider revenue sharing as a key factor in selecting the winner.

"We have Terms of Reference approved by the National Economic and Development Authority, or NEDA, and we need to qualify them. Second, we need to review their technical proposal, which I think all of them qualified. And third most important, which is the basis for the award, is the amount they will give to the government," Bautista explained.

During the bid opening last 27 December 2023, the Bids and Awards Committee of the DoTr revealed that the Manila International Airport Consortium or MIAC, Asian Airport Consortium, GMR Airports Consortium, SMC-SAP, and Company Consortium joined.