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CONSTRUCTION has started to widen the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (Naia) departure zone by extending
the existing partition and enclosing part of what used
to be the curbside, as officials expect an increase in
the volume of passengers while the opening of the
controversial Naia 3 remains hanging.
The
widening project will be finished in 60 days.
According to Naia general manager Alfonso Cusi, the
expansion programs in both Terminals 1 and 2 (the
Centennial airport) are being undertaken because of the
unresolved legal aspects surrounding Naia 3.
“Takenaka, the Japanese building contractor, and the
Manila International Airport Authority [Miaa] have once
more failed to arrive at a consensus on how to address
the repair and rehabilitation of Naia 3,” Cusi told the
BusinessMirror. He said the Miaa will look for another
construction firm while proceeding with the expansion
work on Terminal 1 because of the expected increase in
passenger volume in the coming years.
In
February the Miaa terminated the services of Takenaka
Corp. for the remaining unfinished portion of the Naia
3, said to constitute about 2 percent of the project,
including its structural rehabilitation.
Although
Takenaka had reportedly expressed willingness to go back
to the negotiating table, it remains unclear whether the
Miaa would agree to resume talks because too many delays
had been incurred in the project.
Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro
Mendoza, also the officer in charge of the Air
Transportation Office (Ato), said during his visit there
before the Holy Week that they are negotiating with
another contractor to continue Takenaka’s unfinished
work.
Cusi, on
the other hand, bared plans to increase the passenger
capacity of Terminal 2 by removing some partitions or
constructing an additional wing at the north side of the
building.
Per
records, T1 has processed 10.7 million passengers last
year. No figure is available on how many passengers were
processed at T2, but it has a projected capacity of 2.5
million passengers a year.
Naia 3
has a projected capacity of 15 million passengers a year
for the next 20 years. Flag carriers Philippine Airlines
and Cebu Pacific had embarked on expansion plans in
their international routes, thus forcing the Miaa to
provide the necessary increase in passenger terminal
capacity.
The
downgrading of the Ato by the Federal Aviation
Administration from category 1 to category 2
temporarily delayed PAL’s flights to the US East Coast
but this is expected to resume once the downgrading is
lifted sometime this year. |
