GMR gets ops control of airport in Philippines

NEW DELHI: After losing the Male airport and then selling its stake in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, the GMR group has won a contract to modernize and operate an airport abroad. A GMR-led consortia has taken operational control of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Cebu, Philippines.
MCIA is the only airport abroad being managed by the GMR Group, which runs Delhi and Hyderabad airports. MCIA is the first airport in Philippines to go PPP way for getting modernized.
A JV of GMR Group and Philippines-based construction company Megawide Construction Corporation, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), won the $700 million project. They will now have to construct a new terminal within three years, which is expected to cost about $380 million. In the meanwhile, the existing terminal will be improved to offer better amenities to flyers.
“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,” a GMR statement said.