Filinvest not giving up fight for MCIA project

Lau Ban Kiong, assistant vice president of Changi Airport International, briefed the members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry about their vision of the new Mactan Cebu International Airport if they get the deal.

Filinvest-Changi Airports International Consortium vows to build one of the “best airports in the world.”

The  consortium which gave the second-highest bid for the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Expansion Project said they are  proposing to build an integrated terminal operation with a touch of local architecture integrated into their design of Terminal Building II.

Lau Ban Kiong, Assistant Vice President of Changi Airport International, said they have  allotted a bigger area in their proposed design for more food and beverage stalls and even hospitality and conferencing facilities for travelers like the ones found inside malls.

“We understand how important the airport is to the people of Cebu,” he said in a forum organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday.

“This is probably going to be one of the best airports in the world. I have been to other Changi airports and the question is why were you not the ones chosen?” asked Efren Valiente, past president of the CCCI.

Eleuterio Coronel, Filinvest Development Corp (FDC)  EVP and COO, told Valiente that the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has yet to select the winning bidder on the airport expansion project.

Lito Maderazo, CCCI president, said they invited FDC and Changi officials to Cebu to present  their project proposal. CCCI also sat down in a similar forum with the GMR – Megawide Consortium last week.

“The business community is expectant of what is going to happen. We also wonder why no award has been given so far?”

Maderazo clarified that CCCI is not taking sides in the issue, but wanted “transparency” to prevail in the project bidding process.

FDC sent a January 2, 2014 letter to question the selection of GMR – Megawide Consortium as the highest project bidder and citing “conflict of interest” as a ground for their protest.
Coronel said that the DOCT Pre-qualification, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) have remained “silent” on their complaint to date.

“We are hoping that they will abide by the rules and if they follow the rules, they will recognize the validity of the issues we are raising,” Coronel said in a press conference held after their presentation to CCCI.

He said there will be no more need for an inquiry if DOTC would resolve their complaint as soon as possible.

“We have no interest to delay the awarding of the MCIA project. We just want the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to arrive at a judicious decision on the obvious violation of the Conflict of Interest rule. Once a decision is made on this, the project can start,” Coronel added.

Another forum participant asked FDC and Changi officials if renovation works can be done at the existing MCIA terminal in  preparation for Cebu’s hosting of the APEC summit next year and the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) in 2016.

“Doing a major renovation in a period of one year is impossible,” responded Lau.

But he said that their consortium will try to implement a facelift of the old terminal before the APEC summit should they win the project contract.

Coronel said that their consortium has an  excellent track record and sufficient funds to utilize in the MCIA project.

FDC has a total asset of about P253 billion and is  currently engaged in  about 100 projects nationwide.
The MCIA project is their first airport project in partnership with Changi.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) manages Singapore’s Changi Airport, one of the world’s most awarded airports.