Gov’t decision on ComClark’s P32.6-B air traffic project expected by November

INFORMATION and communications technology (ICT) provider ComClark Network and Technology Corp. said it is hoping that its unsolicited proposal to upgrade the country’s air traffic navigation and control systems will finally secure government approval next month, citing the urgent need to modernize the Philippines’ aging air navigation infrastructure.

“It is all about air traffic control — we need to upgrade our technology,” ComClark Network Chief Operations Officer Benedicto O. Bulatao told reporters last week.

The company resubmitted its P32.55-billion unsolicited proposal for the management of the country’s air navigation traffic and control system in June.

This time, the proposal was submitted by a consortium composed of ComClark Network, JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings, and Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.

Mr. Bulatao said the proposal is still under evaluation, which will be immediately followed by the negotiation phase, adding that the government is expected to decide on the project by November.

“The importance is, it is more like a concern of the government. We need to upgrade the system. It came to us because it is more like a telecom solution — air navigation is like telecom infrastructure. It is something that we do,” he said.

The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center earlier said the Air Traffic Services–Air Navigation Services project is also being evaluated as a potential solicited proposal.

The project involves the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the country’s air traffic and air navigation services, including those within Philippine airspace and international airspace under Philippine jurisdiction.

ComClark’s earlier P29.82-billion proposal was rejected and returned by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) in 2024.

Earlier this year, ComClark said it would submit additional documents, including technical materials to establish the track record and qualifications of its partners Enaire and Indra, both Spanish firms with expertise in air traffic management and providers of integrated solutions for the transport and aviation sectors.

ComClark, established in 1996 by entrepreneur Dennis Anthony H. Uy, began as a cable and internet service provider in Pampanga. The company has since expanded into a nationwide provider of telecommunications and ICT solutions. — Ashley Erika O. Jose