Lufthansa Technik Likely Landing Fresh NAIA Lease

A prized investor at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is likely securing a new deal to renew lease in the gateway, keeping over 3,200 jobs safe and supporting the expansion of local aviation.

- By Elijah Felice Rosales

The 25-year lease of Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) is scheduled to expire this month, but the provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) is poised to sign a renewal.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon told The STAR that LTP still has issues on the higher lease charged by the San Miguel-led New NAIA Infrastructure Corp.

NNIC is charging a monthly lease of P710 per square meter in NAIA. The concessionaire is authorized by an administrative order to collect higher fees from airlines, locators and travelers to fund the P170.6-billion rehabilitation of the airport.

If the rate is applied to LTP, it would have to pay P160 million monthly to keep its 226,000-sqm base in NAIA. This will be 11 times higher than the P14 million a month in LTP's expiring lease.

This is why Dizon, as soon as he came in as transport chief in February, focused on brokering a new deal for LTP, convinced it would be a loss for NAIA if the locator walks away.