Two, six or eight bidders?

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Transaction Advisor on the privatization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), has spoken.

It recommends extending the deadline for the submission of bids for the NAIA modernization project.

As of this writing, the Marcos administration has not announced any decision yet on the matter but it should know that deadline extensions are not unusual. It is, in fact, an international practice.

As someone closely observing the NAIA developments for decades now, I believe a one-time extension is reasonable, just to ensure a more competitive process.

The ADB said that it expects only two prospective bidders with participation by large local corporations to submit bids if the deadline for the submission of bids isn’t extended.

“They have both submitted unsolicited proposals for NAIA in the past and are thus significantly more familiar with NAIA than the other four prospective bidders,” the ADB said.

The question we must ask ourselves now is whether we want just two or six bidders or even eight.

In any big-ticket bidding, the more participants, the merrier; the less, the scarier. And in this case, more bidders would surely make the process more competitive and credible.

Thus, the ADB recommends the extension of bid submission by one month or up to Jan. 29, 2024, “to give bidders more time to prepare and submit bids, thus resulting in more competition and a better financial outcome for the Philippine government.”

“It would also provide concrete evidence of the government’s commitment to encourage new players and foreign investment in Philippine public-private partnerships, without causing undue delay to NAIA’s modernization and the PPP program,” it said.

Of the six prospective bidders which have been participating actively in pre-bid activities, four – including large, credible international airport operators with no prior investment in the Philippines – have requested an extension, the ADB also said.

“They have asked for more time to request and analyze additional information from MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority) and DOTr (Department of Transportation), and to secure their internal corporate approvals, which