The Department of Transportation and Communications has postponed the awarding, to the highest bidder, of the contract to build a new terminal and operate the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). This was confirmed by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya who recently stated that the period for the postqualification review will be extended to address and investigate the issue of conflict of interest raised by the case Filinvest versus GMR-Megawide Consortium and First Philippine Airports Consortium with partner Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB).
Joseph Yap who represents Filinvest in the MCIA bid, expressed appreciation for the DOTC’s’ move as this, he said, “will ensure the integrity of the bidding.” Filinvest is in partnership with Changi Airport International, a 100-percent owner-subsidiary of the Changi Airport Group.
In its letter to the DOTC and the MCIA, Filinvest pointed out the direct relationships between two foreign companies bidding for the project. A director of Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. which are both affiliates of GMR Infrastructure is also a managing director of MAHB. This information is posted in the MAHB website on the Internet.
Article 5.6 in the bidding rules issued by the Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee states that a conflict of interest is present when a board member of one consortium or its affiliates is also directly involved with another bidder. Any violation of this provision will result in both bidders being disqualified.
The MCIA is considered a flagship project of the public-private partnership project. It is part of 15 major projects budgeted at P222 billion before the end of President Aquino’s term in 2016.
—RELI GERMAN,
relgerm@yahoo.com