posted July 20, 2016 at 11:55 pm by Darwin
G. Amojelar [ thestandard.com.ph ]
The Transportation Department proposed
to build a railway system connecting Ninoy Aquino International Airport in
Pasay City and Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade
told reporters the planned rail system would use the right of way of North
Luzon Expressway and Philippine National Railways. “It [rail] would come from
Naia or Trinoma [in Quezon City] to Clark,” Tugade said.
Tugade said the department would
finalize the proposal for submission to the National Economic and Development
Authority within 90 days. The proposed rail system aims to promote Clark
International Airport as an alternative international gateway to Naia which is
now congested.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade
A similar project was proposed under the
Arroyo administration but was shelved by the Aquino administration.
Japan International Cooperation Agency
said Naia was expected to exceed its maximum handling capacity this year, when
the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35
million passengers a year.
Tugade also said the agency planned to
ask airlines to transfer their turbo-props operations to Clark as part of the
government program to decongest the NAIA. The meeting with the airline operators
is scheduled Thursday.
Tugade said general aviation at Naia
would be removed to increase the capacity of the terminal “When I remove
general aviation, you will have an additional space between 18 percent and 21
percent. Already, this weekend, I was pleased to get an open letter from
[Philippine Airlines] chairman Lucio Tan saying he is openly endorsing the
removal of general aviation and that he will also remove all his jet and
helicopters there to show his commitment. Same is true with Lance Gokongwei,”
Tugade said.
He said general aviation would be
transferred to Sangley Point in Cavite.
Meanwhile, the Duterte administration
also proposed to build a cable car to address traffic congestion at Edsa. “I’m not thinking this for a replacement for
train. Hopefully I can make this concept approved by end of the year and
implement it by mid next year,” Tugade said.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said
the government needed at least 10 years of continuous buildup of roads, bridges
and railways to fully achieve the so-called “golden age” of infrastructure.
“I think, my forecast is 10 years of
continuous buildup. We are really severely handicapped by [the lack of] infra
[in the past administrations],” Diokno said at the sidelines of a Financial Executives
Institute of the Philippines forum in Makati City.
Diokno said infrastructure projects
would be built simultaneously nationwide and not sequentially as practiced.
Diokono said in Metro Manila, there be another three or four lines to
supplement the existing LRT Line 1, LRT 2 and MRT 7.
“For too long, public infrastructure has
been neglected. As a result, the Philippine economy is deficient in all types
of infrastructure—roads and bridges, ports and airports, railways and urban
transit systems, irrigation systems and water systems. To address this, we will
hike infrastructure spending from a low 5 percent to a high of 7 percent of
GDP,” Diokno said. With Julito G. Rada
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