CLARK FREEPORT -- The government is committed to complete the P12.55 billion Clark International Airport (CRK) passenger terminal by 2019.
This was announced recently by Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and chief executive officer Vivencio Dizon who said that the new terminal, once completed, will accommodate eight million passengers annually.
Dizon said the agency is set to bid out the construction of the new terminal building in the next few weeks.
The new Clark airport terminal will be BCDA’s first big ticket project to be implemented under the Duterte administration, according to him.
The P12.55-billion project will expand Clark airport terminal by 82,600 square meters to accommodate eight million passengers annually.
“The Clark Airport new terminal will be the first of the hybrid PPP (public-private partnership) model under the Duterte administration, where the government builds it and then the private sector will maintain and operate it,” Dizon said.
He noted that this hybrid model will result in lower airport charges to passengers as the project will be funded by the government.
Dizon clarified that the government also has a percentage in the earnings of the private sector from the airport operation.
The official added that a few weeks after the bidding for the Clark airport expansion project, the tender for the operation and maintenance of the new terminal building will follow.
Dizon said the business community is very interested in the project as the number of flights in the Clark airport increased during the Duterte administration.
Clark airport now has 120 domestic and 138 international flights per week, the official said. “What does it tell us? It tells us that if the government shows the will and the decision to do something, the private sector reacts positively.