4 weeks ago
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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
February 18, 2025 | 12:00am
Ready to spend P30 billion
MANILA, Philippines — Tech tycoon Dennis Anthony Uy is taking another shot with his P30-billion proposal to manage the country’s air traffic, this time backed up by Spain’s controller for aircraft movement.
Uy told reporters that he is headed to Spain soon to negotiate with its state-run regulator ENAIRE about their partnership in an unsolicited proposal.
Uy’s Comclark Network and Technology Corp. is planning to resubmit its proposal to operate and maintain Philippine air navigation facilities.
The project, worth P29.82 billion, was turned down by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) last year, a rejection that Uy attributed to changes in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code. He said his original proposal was filed at a time when the implementing rules and regulations for the new PPP Code have yet to be issued.
The denial, though, failed to dampen Uy’s spirit, as he is eyeing a second crack at it in partnership with ENAIRE. He said Comclark is teaming up with ENAIRE to show the government that it has one of the best in the field in pursuing the project.
ENAIRE provides air navigation and aeronautical services in Spain, the fourth largest country in Europe by air traffic and one of the most important hubs for international connectivity.
ENAIRE, a company owned by Spain’s Ministry for Transport and Sustainability Mobility, handles an airspace territory spanning 2.19 million square kilometers.
For Uy, ENAIRE offers a track record that may be too difficult for the government to pass up on, noting that Philippine air traffic control is in need of an upgrade.
Apart from this, Uy wants to put up his own training facility for air traffic controllers, prompted by the recurring trend of talents leaving the country for better pay abroad. Likewise, his proposal includes acquiring new equipment for back-up in case of emergency.
Comclark’s original offer was to upgrade assets for the communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management of the Philippines. Comclark, the parent of Converge ICT Solutions Inc., wants the project undertaken through a design, build, finance and operate scheme.
If Comclark wins the contract, it has to prevent a repeat of what transpired on New Year’s Day in 2023, when Manila vanished from international airspace for hours, leading to flight interruptions for around 56,000 passengers.
It is important to note, however, that the government has the final say on whether it would accept the unsolicited proposal or open the project for bidding.
