Manny Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has signified its intention to withdraw from the “superconsortium” of seven conglomerates that have come together to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MPIC said it has already advised its consortium partners its plan to withdraw from the project. The company was reacting to a news report published in the Philippine Star , which Quote: d Pangilinan as saying that it was “thinking about” pulling out.

Although Pangilinan did not reveal the reason for exiting the project, he did mention issues related to real property taxes the consortium has to pay to local government units (LGUs).

The superconsortium is composed of the Ayala family’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Andrew Tan’s Alliance Global Group Inc., the Aboitiz family’s Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Development Corporation, the Gokongwei family’s JG Summit Holdings, Inc., Lucio Tan’s Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., and MPIC.

The superconsortium was granted original proponent status in 2018 by the Department of Transportation and the Manila International Airport Authority to undertake a massive upgrade and expansion of NAIA estimated to cost at least P102 billion.

The Star report Quote: d an official from one of the consortium members who said that “losing any member of the team would be a big loss to the group, but not to a point of the proposal becoming nonviable given the financial strength of each member-conglomerate.”

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade has imposed a March 15 deadline for the superconsortium to iron out a deal, otherwise, “it would terminate the agreement and make it available and open to other parties who are interested,” he told the Star .