Privatisation: Indonesia and the Philippines seek private sector investment in new airports

Both the Indonesian and Philippine governments have ‘invited’ the private sector to help construct new airports and terminals. In the case of Indonesia it had not previously demonstrated a favourable disposition towards the private sector in the airports business, at least outside of Jakarta, and had downgraded the likelihood of privatising the existing ones, which are in the main operated by two state departments. The Philippines has been moving a little more towards privatisation with recent decisions taken on Manila Airport’s blighted Terminal 3, the first privatisation in the country of a terminal at Caticlan, and the pending upgrade of Diosdado Macapagal Airport, a contract likely to be won by a world famous brewing company.