By Henry Empeño | September 28, 2026

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has again extended the deadline for the submission of comparative proposals for the Subic International Airport (SIA) project after making corrections on bidding parameters for the P6.2 billion project to transform the Subic airfield into a modern high-capacity cargo and logistics hub.

In a bid bulletin posted on Wednesday, September 23, the SBMA Prequalification, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) said it will issue the final draft PPP (public-private partnership) contract or final bid bulletin on October 15, instead of September 29 as scheduled earlier.

Consequently, the opening of qualification documents from bidders will be held on November 16, instead of October 29, the SBMA-PBAC added.

The revised bidding schedule came about alongside corrections made by the SBMA on the bid parameters that defined the guaranteed fixed annual payment for the 25-year development contract.

The SBMA-PBAC clarified that while the base concession remittance amount submitted by the challenger for Contract Year 1 shall apply to the first seven years, the same shall be subject to an annual escalation of 1.5 percent beginning Contract Year 8 until its expiry on the 25^th year.

The PBAC also clarified that the bid amount should be expressed as a fixed amount in Philippine pesos, and not as a percentage.

Following the revised bidding schedule, the SBMA also set the deadline for payment of participation fees by challengers at seven calendar days before the deadline of submission and opening of the comparative proposals. The participation fee has been set at the non-refundable amount of P1.4 million.

This was the second extension made for the bidding after the formal launch of the Swiss challenge for the Subic airport project on April 28 this year.

The SBMA opened the Subic airport project for comparative proposals, or Swiss challenge, after approving the unsolicited proposal by original proponent Cerberus Asia Pacific Investments LLC.

Cerberus Asia Pacific, a key affiliate of the New York-based alternative investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, presented its original proposal to the SBMA on March 26 last year.

The project includes the rehabilitation and comprehensive upgrading of existing facilities to restore them to full operational condition; operational and infrastructural improvements to enhance airport safety and regulatory compliance; and development of new airport infrastructure and acquisition of equipment to expand airport capacity, improve operational efficiency, and support new service offerings.

The SIA project bears a concession period of 25 years, which is open to extension, after which the airport will revert to SBMA control and management.

The SBMA originally set the availability of tender documents last May 18 and the deadline for the submission of comparative proposals last August 17, or 90 calendar days after the formal invitation for challengers to apply for eligibility.

On June 17, however, the Subic agency moved the release of tender and challenge documents to June 30, and adjusted the deadline for submission of bids accordingly.

The SBMA had set the Swiss challenge to be a single-stage bidding process, with challengers required to submit three bids respectively containing qualification documents, technical proposal, and financial offer.

Under the Swiss challenge, Cerberus is also allowed to match or better the financial proposal of the most superior challenger within 30 days, the SBMA said. ▲