BIZ BUZZ: Another airport bid for Aboitiz?

To say that the Aboitiz Group–a conglomerate with interests in power, banking, infrastructure and food and beverage–is on a roll may just be an understatement.

The industry giant recently bagged the P12.75-billion contract to operate, maintain and upgrade the Laguindingan International Airport after about five years since it was granted the original proponent status for the unsolicited proposal.

This was also about two years since it had acquired ownership in the award-winning Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

Its P4.53-billion unsolicited proposal to transform Bohol-Panglao International Aiport is also undergoing a comparative challenge. If no other bids are submitted by the Nov. 11 deadline, the company will automatically secure its third major airport project.

Looking after–and rehabilitating–three airports is already a herculean task but it seems the company is not done yet.

Sabin Aboitiz, the group’s president and CEO, told reporters last week they might just bid for the Davao airport bidding, which is one of the major gateways in Department of Transportation’s privatization pipeline.

For now, he said they were just waiting for the terms of reference to be issued first before making any major moves.

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“When somebody asks you, ‘do you wanna get married?’ Syempre, you say ‘depending on the terms’,” he said in jest.

Investing in regional gateways will certainly cost them a lot of money but payoff can just be greater given the resurgence of air travel. Turning them into an international terminal will also mean more traffic, which will allow them to recoup investments quicker.

Now, the question is: Will the Aboitiz Group take the risk and join another airport bidding? Abangan!