CONSTRUCTION of the new terminal building of the Clark International Airport is set to begin next year, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Abaya told members of the House appropriations committee scrutinizing the department's P45.07-billion proposed budget for 2016 that bidding will start the soonest possible time.
Abaya said the agency will allot additional P2 billion for its construction on top of the P1.2 billion budget already incorporated in this year’s budget.
The government will be setting aside P15.35 billion for the development of the new terminal that is expected to accommodate up to 15 million passengers yearly once completed.
Abaya said the Clark Airport is more than double the size of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, has two parallel runways and “airplanes can land and take off simultaneously.”
“You need not to wait for other planes to land first before you can take off,” Abaya said.
Pampanga Representative Joseller Guiao said the expansion of the Clark Airport is enough to cater passengers coming from Regions 1,2,3 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
“Passengers coming from these four regions of Luzon are more than enough to decongest the big volume of passengers of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila,” Guiao said.
This project can also entice more local and foreign investors to build additional restaurants, hotels, and malls because of expected spike in passenger traffic.
“If investors see massive improvements because the government is investing in DMIA, it will be easy for us to invite other airlines to fly because passengers are expected to grow in the years to come,” Guiao said.
Airlines currently servicing Clark airport include Qatar Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Tiger Air, Air Asia, Philippine Airlines. (Sunnex)