Duterte inaugurates new Mactan Airport terminal
CEBU -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, June 7, led the inauguration of the new passenger terminal at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).
MCIA Terminal 2 (T2), which brings the airport's annual capacity to 12.5 million passengers from the current 4.5 million, will start operations on July 1. It will serve solely as an international passenger terminal.
Construction of T2 is part of the P17.52-billion Mactan airport upgrading project, the first airport public-private partnership (PPP) project in the country that was awarded during the Benigno Aquino III administration.
"It's a beautiful airport. Cebuanos are very lucky," Duterte said in a press conference after the inaugural ceremony.
T2, styled as the country's first resort airport, was designed by Hong Kong-based Integrated Design Associates (IDA), and local designers Budji Layug, Royal Pinda, and Kenneth Cobonpue. Its design pays tribute to Cebuano culture and heritage.
Terminal 2 will have 48 check-in counters that are expandable to 72. It has provisions for seven passenger boarding bridges, which can be expanded to 12 boarding bridges.
The new terminal will also be equipped with 12 escalators and 15 elevators to facilitate the easy movement of passengers.
Terminal 2 will offer an exciting and wideranging retail environment with approximately 3,000 square meters of gross leasable area dedicated to commercial space for the convenience and leisure of passengers. It also features a walk through Duty Free.
Terminal 2’s food and beverage is operated by British company SSP Group, which also operates in some of the world’s busiest airports such as London’s Heathrow Airport, New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport, and Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A car parking facility will be constructed that can accommodate 550 cars, which is expandable to 750 cars. There will also be an array of food and retail choices, including a mall, casino, and a hotel. The 65,500-square-meter facility was built by concessionaire GMR Megawide Airport Corporation (GMCAC), a consortium that is 60-percent owned by Filipino construction company Megawide Construction Corporation and 40 percent by Bangalorebased GMR Infrastructure Limited.
GMCAC, which signed in April 2014 a 25-year concession agreement to manage and upgrade the airport, is also renovating the existing passenger terminal, which will now be used solely for domestic operations. Airline expansion Meanwhile, airline executives are keen on boosting their presence in Cebu following the inauguration of the MCIA Terminal 2.
Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific Air said it is eyeing to expand its route from Cebu to countries in north Asia like China, Korea and Japan while they continue to connect the islands of the country.
“I am happy of this new terminal. It is something that the whole province and country will benefit from. It is a great entry point and is the nicest airport in the Philippines,” said Lance Gokongwei, chief executive officer of Cebu Pacific Inc.
“We are very excited of this new airport as this will enable us to add more flights,” said Gokongwei, who is also the CEO of JG Summit Holdings Inc.
GMCAC, the private operator of MCIA, envisions the airport to become the “friendliest gateway destination.”