[ Malaya.com.ph ] May 23, 2008
Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Victor Jose Luciano said Kuwait's Kharafi Group has expressed interest to bid a bigger passenger terminal at Clark.
Kharafi, owned by the Al-Kharafi family, the 17th richest in the world, is the second company after Singapore's Changi Airports International to show interest in the project.
Construction of the terminal, valued at P10 billion will start by the third quarter and speed up the development of Clark as the premier airport.
Al-Kharafi has visited the aviation complex. Luciano said CIAC is finalizing the terms of reference for the bidding and may invite more corporations from US and China to join the bid.
The terminal will be designed to process 7 to 8 million passengers per year.
"The proponent will be required to introduce new technology in the airport," he said.
The DMIA has been experiencing unprecedented growth in recent years with at least 60 commercial flights a week by international airlines Air Asia, Tiger Airways, Asiana, Hong Kong Express and China Southern and domestic carriers Seair, Cebu Pacific and Asian Spirit.
Most OFWs from nearby Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Macau and Hong Kong now prefer the DMIA because of the budget airlines that land there.
Hong Kong Express had started its 3 times a week open chartered flights from Clark to Hong Kong while Asian Spirit Airlines, the first local carrier to operate out of DMIA has 5 times a week flights in the route Incheon-Clark-Incheon in South Korea. Local carriers such as Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair) and Cebu Pacific Airways also operate at DMIA.
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