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RECENT
developments at the Diosdado Macapagal International
Airport (DMIA) that include its declaration by President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that it will be the country’s
premier airport and the increase in passenger volume have
roused the interest of several groups that include airport
and logistics park developers that augur well for the
continued development of a premier airport in the Clark
Freeport.
These
developments were further underscored by an Airport of the
Year award given to the DMIA by a global consulting group.
Clark
International Airport Corp. (CIAC) officials will sign on
April 4 two multibillion-peso logistics projects for the
development of a logistics park and the establishment of a
maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for the
DMIA.
The
projects complement the development of a premier airport
in Clark and are in accordance with President Arroyo’s
vision to create a logistics and services hub in the
Clark-Subic corridor.
CIAC
president Victor Jose I. Luciano is set to sign agreements
(MOAs) with Kuwait Gulf and Link (KGL) of Kuwait and the
Singapore Airlines Engineering Co. (SIAEC) in the presence
of President Arroyo during the inauguration of the
expanded passenger terminal of the DMIA on April 4.
Luciano
said KGL will establish a
Global
Gateway Logistics
Park,
while SIAEC will set up a $100-million, 10-hectare MRO
facility at DMIA.
The KGL
project, initially costing $25 million, will be
aviation-related and dependent on businesses including,
but not limited to, warehousing, distribution, multinodal
logistics, light manufacturing alongside complementary
business operations and facilities supporting
aviation-related activities.
The
world-class logistics project that will occupy at least
125 hectares will be located at Industrial Estate Five
within the 2,500-hectare area covered by the DMIA Civil
Aviation Complex.
SIAEC,
meanwhile, will pour an initial $100-million investment
for its MRO project.
A major
provider of aircraft MRO services in the Asia-Pacific
Region, SIAEC is part of the Singapore Airlines Group and
provides maintenance services to the more than 60
international carriers operating at Singapore’s Changi
Airport, including airframe and component overhaul on some
of the most advanced and widely used commercial aircraft
in the world.
Luciano
said SIAEC is expected to generate jobs in the field of
aircraft repair and maintenance, adding the Singaporean
group will construct five large hangars at DMIA for the
repair of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. SIAEC’s line
maintenance support extends to more than 40 countries such
as Australia, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The
facility will occupy a 10-hectare property at the DMIA
which would be the center of repair, maintenance and
overhaul of various wide- and narrow-bodied aircraft such
as the AirbusA380—currently the world’s largest aircraft,
the Airbus 300 and Boeing 747s and 777s, among others.
SIAEC
services at least 80 international carriers and aerospace
equipment manufacturers. It has 20 certifications from
airworthiness authorities around the world with six
hangars and 22 in-house workshops in Singapore, which
provide complete MRO services in airframe, component,
engine, aircraft conversions and modifications to major
airlines from four continents.
President
Arroyo will witness the signing of agreements which also
coincide with the inauguration of the expanded DMIA
Passenger Terminal on April 4.
These come
at the heels of another award received by the DMIA that
notes the progress at the Clark airport.
Over a
year after receiving the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation
Low-Cost Airport of the Year 2006 award, the DMIA bagged
the Airport of the Year award for airports with below 15
million passengers annually at the 2008 Frost & Sullivan
Asia-Pacific Aerospace and Defense Awards Banquet held in
Singapore
on March 14.
CIAC
president and CEO Luciano received the Frost & Sullivan
Award during simple ceremonies held in Singapore. | 
