GMA bats for development of Clark airport
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday called for the full development of Clark International Airport as an alternative gateway to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
“Actually I have been for it, and it’s not because of any specific knee-jerk reaction to any event,” Arroyo told reporters when asked if she was for developing Clark in the wake of the Xiamen Air plane incident that paralyzed NAIA last weekend.
She said a new terminal in Clark is under construction while bids for a new runway were to be opened yesterday.
The former president visited the airport in Angeles City in her home province of Pampanga after distributing relief goods to Aetas in Porac town.
Another Pampanga lawmaker, Michael Romero of party-list 1-Pacman, supported Arroyo’s proposal to fully develop Clark.
He said the Manila airport obviously could no longer “support a 42-millionpassengers-a-year operation.”
“NAIA’s four terminals are good only for 31 million passengers, or an excess of 11 million passengers. That is the reason why there is passenger and flight congestion at the country’s principal gateway,” Romero said.
The new Clark terminal could handle 10 million to 12 million passengers a year. It will be operational in 2020. The capacity of the existing facility is 2.5 million passengers.
Clark officials said the former American airbase could accommodate up to three runways and 80 million passengers.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone urged NAIA to use its P3.7-billion income to modernize its rescue and emergency equipment “to avoid paralysis of the country’s premier airport in case another accident happens on the runway.”
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said he was “saddened and sickened that airport officials took days to normalize operations affected by a single non-fatal accident.”
Bulacan, Cavite airports
Two key airport projects in Bulacan and Cavite will proceed to complement NAIA and Clark airport, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.
With the development of these new airports, the DOTr said travelers would have more options.
According to the DOTr, recommendations by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Department of Finance (DOF) on the revised concession agreement along with the risk allocation matrix are being considered by San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC) for its proposal for the Bulacan airport.
The DOTr said it would start negotiations with SMHC to finalize the draft concession agreement before submitting it to NEDA.
The proposal, which was approved by the NEDA board on April 25, includes building of four runways and a passenger terminal with 100 million passengers capacity per year.
San Miguel Corp. (SMC) confirmed its has received the comments of the DOF and NEDA on the draft concession agreement.
“SMC welcomes this development as it brings the company another step closer to making the New Manila International Airport – the largest, most ambitious and modern airport infrastructure project in the country – a reality,” it said. “SMC is looking forward to completing the process, and finalizing the agreement with the DOTr.”
The DOTr said it also welcomed the proposal of the provincial government of Cavite to develop the Sangley airport.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the new Bohol (Panglao) airport, Bicol International Airport in Albay, Siargao and Bukidnon airports are undergoing construction.
Special flights
Foreign and local airlines operating at the NAIA have resumed normal operations after 36 hours of runway closure.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) at the NAIA Terminal 1 mounted especial flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Vancouver in Canada to accommodate stranded passengers.
PAL and Cebu Pacific deployed additional personnel to assist passengers at the security and check-in counters.
OFW assistance
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were affected by the recent closure of the NAIA may claim their P5,000 financial assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) until Aug. 31.
Those who are already abroad may receive the financial aid from any Philippine embassy or Consulate General until Sept. 30, the DFA said.
The agency has released almost P2.8 million in financial assistance to the affected OFWs.
As of Wednesday, a total of 559 OFWs received the cash assistance.