NAIA project eyed to jumpstart P40-B Maharlika investments

The Maharlika Investment Corp. is setting its sights on the recently awarded Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rehabilitation as one of about 10 projects where it intends to invest the MIC's P40-billion funding this year.

- LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

In an interview with The STAR, MIC president and CEO Rafael Consing Jr. said the sovereign wealth fund has a thick pipeline of projects to explore as it hits the ground running in its first year of operation.

A third of the P125 billion initial capitalization of the fund will be committed to energy, transportation, infrastructure and agro-forestry for 2024.

"About P30 billion to P40 billion would have been committed by the end of the year," Consing said.

One particular project that Consing is interested in is the NAIA rehabilitation project, which was recently awarded to the consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) together with the operator of South Korea's Incheon airport.

The privatization of the country's main gateway has promised P900 billion in revenue for the government.