[ manilastandardtoday.com ] March 5, 2010
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. may build an airport in the Clark economic zone after receiving an offer from Clark Development Corp., chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters Thursday.
“We have been asked to look at international airports, and we’re looking at it,” said Pangilinan, who is also chairman and chief executive of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
“We were talking to [CDC] to build a new one,” Pangilinan said, adding negotiations were on the preliminary stage.
“All I know is the country needs a new international airport,” he said, citing that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila was already congested.
He said a new international airport had to be built “sooner rather than later because it takes a while to build an airport.”
Pangilinan said transportation facilities in Clark, especially high-speed trains to and from Manila, must be developed to attract local and international carriers to transfer part of their operations in Clark.
“[Improvement of] transportation facilities is a crucial part of the project,” he said.
Established in 1993, CDC is a government-owned corporation in charge of operating, administering and managing all operations and businesses within the Clark Freeport Zone.
Clark, which is part of major growth corridors, is about one-and-a-half to four hours away from other major Asian destinations.
CDC aims to transform Clark into an airport-driven urban center ideal for the requirements of high-end IT enabled industries, aviation and logistics related enterprises, tourism and other sectors.
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, which is 85 kilometers away from Naia, is the main airport serving the immediate vicinity of the Clark Special Economic Zone. Jeremiah F. de Guzman
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