[ Manila Bulletin Online ] August 21, 2008
By MALOU M. MOZO
CEBU CITY — The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) said it has earmarked at least P300 million for the renovation of the Cebu-Mactan international airport to enable it to cope with the increased passenger traffic and influx of international flights.
MCIAA General Manager Danilo Francia said the MCIAA Board has hired foreign consultants to prepare the plan for the renovation of the airport. The project will include wider space, high-technology security equipment, and various commercial establishments.
During the recent weekly 888 News Forum, Francia said project consultants will prepare in three months the engineering designs for the renovation. Later, the contract will be bidded out.
The renovation is set to be finished within one year, Francia said.
The plan to improve the domestic and international terminals here started with the proposal to construct two additional boarding bridges and four tubes.
Considering that four of the five-star airline companies -- Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, SilkAir, and Asian Airlines -- land at the Mactan-Cebu airport, Francia said the additional boarding bridges and four tubes will be needed to accommodate the projected influx of foreign tourists.
At least R60 million was allocated by MCIAA for the bridges and tubes that will protect passengers from rain or heat.
"We will be tearing down walls, remove unnecessary offices to provide more spaces inside to accommodate holding passengers," he said.
Francia also said new equipment, such as an automatic baggage X-ray system, will also be put in place to remove the long queue at the terminal’s entrance.
He said that there will be bigger spaces for commercial establishments that offer competitive prices of products similar to those found in malls, as well as the asphalting of roads.
Francia said once the airport’s renovation is completed, it could accommodate additional 600,000 international travelers and, at most, three million domestic arrivals.
He believed the renovation project will be an important step towards the proposed expansion of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the next three to four years.
Earlier, Tourism Secretary Ace Durano called for the immediate expansion of the MCIA in order to meet the needs of the growing tourist arrivals to Cebu, considering that passenger traffic of the local airport is growing 20 percent every year.
Durano said the existing airport has a total capacity of 4.5 million passengers, and already 75 percent of this capacity has been utilized since two years ago.
"The best airports in the world start expanding at least three years before full capacity of the existing facility is reached. We want MCIA to be one of the best airports in the world," he said.
