BIZ BUZZ: NAIA’s P78-B payday
The government’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) deal is already proving to be quite the moneymaker.
New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) has remitted P78 billion to the government while pouring another P6.8 billion into the rehabilitation and modernization of Naia since taking over operations in September 2024.
The P78 billion covers payments under the public-private partnership agreement as of Aug. 15.
Under the concession, the government gets a P30-billion upfront payment, a fixed P2-billion annual payment and a hefty 82.16 percent share of gross airport revenues covered by the revenue-sharing arrangement.
Meanwhile, NNIC’s P6.8-billion spending has gone into repairs, replacement of aging equipment, passenger processing systems and capacity improvements—all while keeping the country’s busiest gateway running.
The upgrades are becoming increasingly visible. NNIC has deployed 517 biometric-enabled passenger processing units and funded 78 new immigration e-gates at Terminals 1 and 3.
It has also automated parking, upgraded baggage systems and rolled out thousands of new baggage trolleys and passenger seats.
There’s little room for downtime: NAIA handled a record 52.02 million passengers in 2025, well beyond its original design capacity of about 35 million passengers annually.
NNIC president Ramon S. Ang said there was still “a lot more work ahead,” with investments continuing as the airport undergoes its multiyear makeover.
For the government, though, the concession is already delivering a sizable return—and for travelers, the hope is that the billions spent will translate into an airport experience that finally keeps up with the crowds.
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
