en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in the Philippines has officially initiated a comparative challenge tender, soliciting competitive bids against an unsolicited proposal to transform Subic Bay International Airport into a cargo hub. The proposal was submitted by Cerberus Asia Pacific Investments Ltd. on March 26, 2025, with an estimated project value of approximately 6.2 billion Philippine pesos.
Cerberus Asia Pacific is an affiliate of the U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Global Investments, LLC. In 2022, the company, along with Agila NY Naval Inc./Agila South Inc., jointly acquired 300 hectares of land within the Subic Bay Freeport formerly owned by South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines. Malacañang Palace previously stated that Cerberus Global plans to make further investments in the Philippines, including transforming Subic Bay International Airport into a cargo and logistics hub.
After SBMA and Cerberus Asia Pacific completed detailed evaluations and negotiations, the latter was granted Original Proponent Status for the project, thereby triggering the comparative challenge process. According to the invitation to bid issued on April 27, the project will be implemented under an Operate-Rehabilitate-Expand-Transfer (ORET) model, in accordance with the Philippine Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law and its implementing rules and regulations.
The Subic Bay International Airport project encompasses upgrading, expansion, operation, and maintenance, with a concession period of 25 years, subject to possible extension. The primary objective is to transform the airport into a modern, efficient, high-capacity cargo hub that meets international standards and enhances cargo transport quality, establishing an efficient modern cargo transport system for Luzon.
The comparative challenge adopts a single-stage bidding process. Each challenger must submit a comparative proposal containing eligibility documents, a technical proposal, and a financial proposal. Challengers who pass the eligibility check can participate in the opening of technical proposals, and those with compliant technical proposals proceed to the opening of financial proposals. The challenger whose submitted financial proposal offers the highest base concession fee for the first year of the contract will be declared as having the Best Comparative Proposal. The bidding will be conducted under a right-to-match mechanism, where the Original Proponent has the right to match or better the financial proposal of the Best Comparative Proposal.
If the relevant SBMA committee determines the Original Proponent's financial proposal is more advantageous, or in the absence of any challenger, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract will be awarded to the Original Proponent. Comparative proposals must be submitted on or before August 17, 2026, with the opening of bids on the same day.
Since its opening, Subic Bay International Airport has only handled chartered and military flights. During the pandemic, the airport processed 82 repatriation flights for Philippine Airlines, transporting over 20,000 passengers between July 2021 and February 2022. SBMA previously stated that the facility is already equipped to accommodate commercial flights and can also serve as a logistics hub and a base for aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO).
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
