Cavite cancels Sangley airport venture with MacroAsia-CCCC
In a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MacroAsia confirmed that it received the notice of selection and award was canceled.
China-backed group loses Cavite airport project
The Cavite government scrapped the joint venture to develop the $10 billion Sangley airport with MacroAsia Corporation and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), Governor Jonvic Remulla said on January 27.
Remulla said the committee of the province tasked to review the deal recommended the non-approval of the redevelopment of the former airbase due to “various deficiencies” in the submission of requirements.
The governor, however, noted that talks with “any qualified partner” to build the airport may be held and “hopefully” be successful by October.
Sangley airport was poised to help solve congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, but allegations of the Chinese firm being favored hounded the project right from the beginning. The two companies were the lone bidders for the project, as other interested parties viewed the terms as “unrealistic.”
MacroAsia and CCCC also failed to submit post-qualification documents, despite the Cavite government extending deadlines 4 times.
CCCC subsidiaries were among US blacklist
In August 2020, the United States had blacklisted 24 Chinese firms for their involvement in Beijing’s reclamation of maritime features in the South China Sea and its construction of military bases there. CCCC’s subsidiaries were among the blacklisted companies.
Even before the US sanctioned CCCC, the company was already blacklisted by the World Bank from 2011 to 2017 over “fraudulent practices,” which included anomalous bidding schemes.
