GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) a joint venture between GMR Group and Megawide Construction Corporation has taken full operational control of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Cebu, Philippines.
The MCIA is Philippine’s first airport to be privatized under the administration’s ambitious PPP programme aimed at modernizing key infrastructure assets.
In the international competitive bidding process GMR-Megawide Consortium had emerged as the highest bidder after offering a bid premium of 14.4 billion Philippine Pesos.
The formal award of the project in April was followed by a six-month transition period to complete project formalities leading to the transfer of operations to GMCAC.
As part of the overall master plan, GMCAC will build a brand new terminal building within three years to cater to the growing traffic. At the same time, the immediate priority will be to upgrade the existing terminal and enhance operating systems and processes to improve service quality and efficiency.
Alongside, GMCAC will lay adequate emphasis on corporate social responsibility and work towards socio-economic development in the surrounding region, the Indian company said.
“The takeover of operations of Mactan Cebu International Airport marks the beginning of a new chapter for GMR Group’s airports business,” G.M. Rao, Chairman, GMR Infrastructure Ltd said.
“We have proven credentials in airport operations and modernization and we are confident that we will undertake this prestigious project in a timely manner and deliver an airport that Cebuanos and Filipinos will be proud of.”
GMR-Megawide Consortium plans to develop the Mactan-Cebu International Airport into a regional hub in the Philippines, creating passenger and cargo traffic growth, jobs for local community, giving a boost to the tourism traffic and creating multiplier economic benefits for the region.
The Delhi airport, also managed by GMR, was recently ranked 5th best airport overall amongst 285 airports in the world.
GMR had bid for the Mactan-Cebu airport project with Megawide Construction Corporation, one of Philippine’s leading construction firm.