PROJECT INSPECTION. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III (center) on Wednesday (July 15, 2020) inspects the ongoing construction of the new Clark International Airport passenger terminal building, which is 99.14 percent complete. The new terminal will be operational in six months. With him are Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs and Projects, Secretary Vince Dizon (right), and Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. CEO Bi Yong Chungunco (left). (Photo courtesy of BCDA)
CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – The new passenger terminal building at the Clark International Airport here that is set to operate in six months is seen to boost the economic development of Central Luzon.
“This facility is very important for us because it opens up the Central Luzon area to the international market. This will help passengers, especially from the northern part of Luzon, access international flights in and out. This project is so critical for the development of the tourism and the national trade of northern and central Luzon," said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who was among the government officials who inspected the facility's ongoing construction here on Wednesday afternoon.
The project, which is being built by Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure Ltd., is 99.14-percent complete.
In a statement, Dominguez said the new terminal is projected to triple Clark airport’s annual passenger capacity up to 12 million.
Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs and Projects, Secretary Vince Dizon, who is also president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), which oversees the project together with the Department of Transportation, said, “From conceptualization to approval, down to execution and completion, I think the Duterte administration can boast (of) this as one of the fastest mega-infrastructure projects any government has undertaken.”
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade cited how Clark airport would further spur economic growth and provide accessibility to the area.
The new terminal would be linked to the Manila-Clark Railway Station, which would reduce travel time from Metro Manila to Clark to less than an hour.
The Clark airport’s new terminal is one of the centerpiece projects of the “Build Build Build” program envisioned to bring interconnectivity throughout the archipelago.
The project was constructed for two years since April 2018.
Once fully operational, the new terminal will help position Clark as the next major global gateway in the country.
Full airport development, which spans four phases, will generate more than 80 million passengers annually, making Clark International Airport at par with the biggest airports, not only in the region but in the world.
The development of the airport is guided by the master plan and feasibility study of Aeroport de Paris Ingenierie (ADPI), completed in 2013, and pursued through a grant by the French government. (PNA)
