TOO many airport development plans? The chief of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Monday allayed fears the government is getting disorganized with the pile of airport projects it has in the pipeline.
At the annual meeting of the Makati Business Club, BCDA President and CEO Vivencio B. Dizon said the government is taking it one proposal at a time in constructing new and expanding existing airports. He asserted that authorities are not panicking in trying to resolve the congestion at the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
The business community raised before Dizon its concern that the government might be all over the place in trying to resolve the Naia congestion.
It feels the government’s strategy in building and expanding airports is scattered and nearly disorganized. Further, there is apparently no clear message what will be secondary to Naia: Clark International Airport in Pampanga, Sangley Point International Airport in Cavite or the proposed New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.
“We have to build more, whether that be the expansion of Naia or the construction of Sangley airport. The attitude of the government now is, let’s try to process all of them. However, Clark is a little different, as it is not a plan because it is already there,” Dizon explained.
“The master plan is done, so it is really just a matter of execution. It is about proper phasing and swiftness of execution,” he added.
Most viable
Dizon said the Clark airport is the most viable alternative now that its passenger and flight counts are jumping. In 2016, there were only about 50,000 domestic travelers who used Clark, but this is projected to hit 2.5 million local passengers
this year.
Domestic flights surged to over 500 per week this year, from six flights per week in 2016. In a similar trend, international flights doubled to over 240 per week, from 120 per week. Such spike in flights is seen to boost the passenger traffic.
“The first phase is slated to be done next year and our plan after the opening of the terminal next year is we immediately move to the second phase,” the BCDA chief said.
“The construction of the second runway and the expansion of the existing terminal should double our 10-million-passenger-per-year capacity. With this, we are well on our way to expanding Clark to its ultimate design, which is to be able to receive 80 million passengers annually,” he added.
The government is, meanwhile, assessing a 15-year tender by a group of firms that call themselves the Naia Consortium to upgrade and operate Naia.
It is also expanding the capabilities of the Clark airport. On the other hand, San Miguel Corp. will be constructing the P735.6-billion Bulacan gateway in response to the government’s call to the private sector to help decongest Naia.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/06/25/too-many-airport-plans-not-really/
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