AFTER reaping the 2019 International Architecture Awards (IAA) for Airports and Transportation Centers category, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) was also shortlisted for the upcoming World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam.

MCIA Terminal 2 will compete with Jewel Changi Airport and the Istanbul Airport during the festival in December 2019, said the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) in a statement Friday, July 12, 2019. GMCAC is the private operator of MCIA.

Specifically, Terminal 2 will compete in the Completed Buildings – Transport category.

The World Architecture Festival is an annual festival and awards ceremony dedicated to the architecture and development industry. Its mission is to serve as the international voice for industrial design, and to advocate, promote, and share knowledge of industrial design driven innovation to create a better world.

“MCIA continues to be recognized globally not only because it embodies our positioning as a Filipino resort airport, but also because its design and quality of engineering allow us to deliver world-class service and operations,” said GMCAC president Louie Ferrer.

Besides winning big at the IAA, GMCAC also announced that Terminal 2’s airport bar, The Cabin Bar by London-based travel food and beverage (F&B) operator SSP, was also recently named Asia Pacific Airport Bar of the Year in the Airport Food and Beverage Awards held in Dallas, Texas. The awards recognize the best in travel food and beverage worldwide. The Cabin Bar is the first-ever full bar operating inside an airport in the Philippines.

While these recognitions boost MCIA’s confidence, the GMCAC said it will continue to uplift the airport’s image in the international spotlight.

GMCAC said the first phase of renovations of Terminal 1 will be delivered by the third quarter of 2019. With its own adapted resort-theme design, Terminal 1 will feature the much-awaited Airport Village, a brand new retail and F&B area for passengers to enjoy.

“We are continuing the transformation of MCIA this year with the renovations to Terminal 1 and the upcoming launch of our new Airport Village, which is scheduled to open in the coming months,” said Ferrer.

“It will feature world-class local and international brands in retail and F&B, and will provide a whole new level of dining and shopping experience for our passengers and their well-wishers,” he added.

In 2018, MCIA received three awards, one of which was Asia Pacific Medium Airport of the Year during the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence ceremony, one of the most respected awards in the airport and aviation industry. (KOC with PR)