The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Due to the growing demand for air travel, concessionaire led by San Miguel Corp (SMC) is set to build a new passenger terminal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in three years.
SMC President and CEO Ramon Ang said the project would enable Filipinos to feel the benefits of privatizing NAIA as early as possible.
The New NAIA Infrastructure Corp., headed by SMC, will put up the new building near Terminals 1 and 2.
Ang said the terminal will be built on the site of the abandoned Philippine Village Hotel within the Nayong Pilipino complex. The terminal will have at least 50 concourses which, after completion, would significantly push up the capacity of the airport to handle flights.
Ang added the concessionaire has to secure approval of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) before it can proceed with the construction.
The concessionaire will also put up a multipurpose building to serve as the relocation site for airport regulators housed inside the terminals.
“We hope to clear up to 30 percent of space at Terminals 1, 2, and 3 that can be used to accommodate passengers by moving them to another location,” Ang explained.
The building will also have parking spaces for up to 9,000 vehicles.
Ang said the concessionaire will resolve the vehicle congestion problem at NAIA as early as next year.
The operator will develop a direct access road from NAIA Expressway (NAIA-X) to Terminal 3 to improve the traffic flow within and around the airport.
The goal is to enable motorists to go in and out of NAIA within a 10-minute timeframe. SMC holds the concession for the Skyway System and NAIA-X both of which are linked to NAIA.
Ang also bared plans to employ a digital system similar to the one being used in India, where travelers can scan their faces at home to speed up their pre-departure transactions at the airport.
Ang said that even if they were tasked to change NAIA for the better, the concessionaire will preserve some elements at the airport.
He said he has no intention of renaming NAIA back to Manila International Airport, as proposed by some quarters, saying the focus of the privatization is on rehabilitation, not politics.