The government has rejected the unsolicited proposals submitted by two consortia for the development of Clark International Airport passenger terminal.

Arthur Tugade, Department of Transportation secretary, said government has decided to undertake the construction of Clark airport’s  new passenger  terminal estimated to cost P15 billion.

Last year, JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Development Corp.  submitted a proposal to  the Duterte administration  for the 50-year concession of the airport worth P187 billion.

The project involves the  expansion of Clark airport to  increase its capacity and  accommodate 36 million passengers  per year.

Another group,  GMR Infrastructure Ltd. of India and Megawide Construction Corp also submitted a proposal to  develop Clark airport in six phases over a period of 50 years to accommodate  up to 100 million passengers per year. The group offered P250 billion for the concession.

Alexander Cauguiran, president of  Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) told reporters  the project implementation has changed.

The  DOTr and Based Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) will undertake the development of Clark passenger terminal.

Of the total investment of P15 billion needed, DOTr will finance the P2.8 billion and the balance will be shouldered  by BCDA, Cauguiran said.

Last March, DOTr  released  the first tranche of the P2.8-billion fund to CIAC,   totaling  P6.6 million, for the pre-construction activity,  procurement of consulting services for the detailed engineering and design, and construction management services for the new terminal building.

Cauguiran said the  project is targeted to be completed in the next three to four years.

The government had tapped the services of French firm Aeroports de Paris in 2014 to conduct a feasibility study as well as draw up the master plan for the new passenger terminal as well as other areas at the 2,367-hectare civil aviation complex.

The current passenger capacity of the existing passenger terminal is at 4 million per year being utilized by budget airlines and full service airlines operating 24 hours a day.

The Clark airport is currently host to a number of air carriers such as Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, CebGo, Tiger Air Singapore, Dragonair, Jin Air, and Air Asia Berhad.