Consortium signs deal to operate, manage Clark Airport

This photo shows the Clark International Airport departure hall. (File Photo By TheJMP617/Wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — The North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC) on Tuesday signed a concession agreement with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on the operations and management (O&M) of the Clark International Airport.

The agreement grants a 25-year concession period to the NLAC to develop the commercial assets; operate and maintain project facilities; and implement improvements on the new terminal in Clark.

“The development of Clark International Airport (CRK), primed to be the next premier gateway to Asia, has reached a major milestone today with the signing of the concession agreement for the airport’s operations and maintenance granted by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to the North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC),” the consortium said in a statement.

The NLAC, consisting of Changi Airport Philippines Pte. Ltd., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc., has bagged the O&M of the Clark International Airport last December.

This after the other bidder, X-Droid Consortium – which is made up of Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura II, Globalport 900, Mazy Capital, and Desco – was disqualified during the bidding conducted in November last year.

The NLAC has allocated PHP6 billion for the improvement of its new terminal building, which is expected to serve around eight million passengers or double the current capacity of its existing terminal.

The construction of the new terminal, which started in December 2017 is expected to be completed by 2020.

The NLAC envisions to promote Clark International Airport as the Northern and Central Luzon gateway airport through its partnerships with tourism authorities and airline carriers to increase traffic, build a wider network and establish connectivity to Clark with more domestic and international flights.