Japan to Study NAIA Replacement

The Philippine government has asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency to assist in determining a feasible location of a new airport that would either serve as a third gateway for the country or a possible replacement for Ninoy Aquino International Airport. 

Image Source: Wikipedia

According to Joseph Abaya, Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communications, a feasibility study must be completed immediately as the construction of a new facility could take at least ten years. "We have requested the Japan International Cooperation Agency to do a study for a NAIA replacement airport," said Abaya. "The basic parameter is that it should be 20 minutes away from the metropolis." He added that Sangley in Cavite was a good example of a possible location. However, that is only one of the areas being considered. "It should be determined right away so we can start the construction. It takes maybe 10 years to build an airport," Abaya said.

The Department of Transportation and Communications has presented a number of options to President Aquino in an effort to address congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. One of the proposals involves the development of Clark International Airport while maximizing the use of NAIA's existing runways and terminals. Under this proposal, a new airport would be constructed simultaneously which would eventually lead to the closure and sale of Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

"We are going up to the President to get a final decision," said Abaya. "We are now master planning Clark. We will invest in Clark but we won't put all our eggs in Clark. But we will make sure that we will stunt the growth in Clark. In NAIA, we will maximize runway capacity and terminal capacity and eventually we will hit a ceiling in NAIA either in 2018 or 2020."

Sangley International Gateway Proposal
Image Source: All-Asia Resources and Reclamation Corp.

The government has slowly began to adopt a dual airport system with the upgrades to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the development of Clark International Airport. But an alternate international gateway is still under review. Meanwhile, work continues at Clark International Airport on a P360 million project to expand the airport's existing terminal building. The government recently signed a memorandum of agreement with a French firm to conduct a feasibility study on the development of a P7.2 billion budget air terminal at Clark.

The Aquino administration is also considering the construction of a budget terminal at Ninoy Aquino International Airport to be constructed beside Terminal 3 that could serve up to ten million passengers annually. The government already revealed plans to spend more than P1 billion on the rehabilitation of NAIA Terminal 1. An additional P1.9 billion will be spent retrofitting NAIA Terminal 3 so that it can finally operate at full capacity.