By Alena Mae S. Flores | Dec. 31, 2014
at 11:30pm [ BusinessWorld Online ]
The Transportation Department said it
plans to construct the P7.2-billion Clark International Airport budget terminal
in phases to accommodate the “too big” design of Aeroports De Paris of France.
“Aéroports de Paris designed a huge
terminal that is beyond what we thought would be the actual demand. Our
struggle, we don’t need it yet,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya
said.
Abaya said as the French firm refused
to modify the design, the government would instead build the project in
Pampanga province in several phases.
“We should do it in phases. At first,
they don’t want to revise it. We think it is too big a design,” he said.
More than 1 million passengers
currently use Clark International Airport annually, a figure that is expected
to rise dramatically in the coming years as the government aims to decongest
Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.
The department tapped Aeroports de
Paris to conduct the feasibility study of the Clark budget terminal as part of
the government’s move to decongest Naia.
Aeroports De Paris was tasked to
conduct the feasibility study for the master plan as well as the design of the
budget terminal building that would be set up at the 2,367-hectare Clark Civil
Aviation Complex.
“The compromise is, we’ll still honor
the design but we construct in phases as the demand comes in, we will build it.
Next year [2015], we have funding for the first phase,” Abaya said.
The new budget terminal building is
estimated to cost P7.2 billion, with a passenger capacity of 15 million annually.
The government decided to keep Naia as
Luzon’s premier gateway, while expanding the capacity of Clark as the
alternative hub.
Investors such as San Miguel Corp.
offered to build another airport on reclaimed portions of Manila Bay, but the
proposal was shelved after the conglomerate divested from flag carrier
Philippine Airlines.
“We recognize that Naia and Clark both
have significant impacts to the country’s economic growth, particularly in
terms of tourism and logistics. In line with this, we are working to maximize
the capacity of Naia and to further develop that of Clark,” Abaya said earlier.
Abaya said “the medium term plan is to
operate both Naia and Clark to serve Luzon.”
“To further support this, a
feasibility study is also being developed for the North-South commuter railway,
which will make Clark more accessible from Metro Manila,” he said.
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