CLARK FREEPORT -- Majority of Kapampangans were both amazed and delighted over the pronouncement of President Duterte that Clark International Airport here will the country’s second premier airport next to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
Because of this development, the country’s flag carrier – Philippine Airlines (PAL) mounted several domestic and international flights in Clark which was followed by low-cost carriers including Cebu Pacific and Philippines AirAsia also commencing flights in the airport named as the “Airport of the North.”
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Department of Transportation (DoTr) recently announced the construction of the P9.3 billion new passenger terminal at the Clark airport.
Clark International Airport Corporation acting President Alex Cauguiran said there is a need to construct airport terminals because of the rapid increase in the number of passengers.
The project is scheduled to start this month and will be completed by 2020. Once completed, the airport is expected to accommodate eight million passengers per year, according to Cauguiran.
The government will spend around P12-billion to P15-billion for the new passenger terminal.
A consortium led by Megawide Construction Corporation and India’s GMR Infrastructure bagged a contract to build the new passenger terminal.
Some 11 world leaders arrived in Clark airport during the Association of South East Asian Nation Summit in November this year.
Clark was once the largest overseas US military base. The American troops left the area during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo 26 years ago.
Another big ticket project of the Duterte Administration is the New Clark City formerly Clark Green City situated at the Clark subzone in Capas town, Tarlac province.
The smart and green city and the Clark airport are expected to complement each other for the further development of Central Luzon as the country’s next growth center.
The BCDA stated that the Clark Green City is expected to positively affect not the lives of people within Central Luzon but the entire nation as well.
Around 1.12 million people and 800,000 workers are expected to reside in the smart city upon its full development.
The City will be master planned to contain an industrial sector featuring green industries, agriculture-centered communities with support facilities, business hubs and educational institutions, said BCDA Vice President for Corporate Communications Leilani Macasaet.
Kapampangan leaders and businessmen are very grateful about the President’s policy direction about Clark Airport.