Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), the country’s airport owner and operator, is believed to be interested in bidding for the PHP 17.5 billion Mactan-Cebu International Airport project. The company is reported to have submitted a query to DOTC to seek clarification on the legal qualification requirement to bid for the project. MAHB and South Korean Samsung C&T are two foreign companies that have thus far enquired about the airport project’s terms. Further, DOTC has confirmed that airline companies and entities that have a relationship with an airline firm may own a maximum of 33 per cent of the shares in the winning bidder’s special purpose company. However, DOTC has maintained that in order to avert any conflict of interest no airline company should be directly involved in operations. The project has a concession period of 20 years and is expected to be built in two phases and completed by 2033.
