Mactan-Cebu Airport Terminal 2 Inaugurated

The Philippines now has a world class international airline terminal.  On June 7, the new Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2 was formally inaugurated.  The new terminal 2 is dubbed as the world's first resort airport. 

Image Source: Flights in Asia

The event was attended by President Rodrigo Duterte, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) President Louie Ferrer, GMCAC Chairman Srinivas Bommidala, and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat.  The ceremony itself took place where the check-in area is located.

In his remarks, Duterte said that “I was awed when I started to walk toward this way. Napakaganda ng airport niyo. Inggit din ako kasi matagal akong mayor sa Davao (Your airport is very beautiful. I am jealous because I was mayor of Davao for a long time), 23 years. Davaoeños would have also wanted an airport as beautiful as yours".  He also added that the new terminal will "showcase the best of what the Philippines has".  

As part of the inauguration, the officials took a tour of the new building.  The first floor acts as the arrival hall.  The second floor is where passengers actually embark and disembark from their flights, as well as clear passport control upon entry into the country.  The third floor houses the 48 check-in desks and other departure facilities.  There are currently seven passenger aerobridges to facilitate boarding and this can be expanded to 12.  The terminal also has 12 escalators and 15 lifts.    

The terminal is made of materials that represent the Cebuano heritage.  For instance, there is a lot of wood inside; this serves as a tribute to Cebu being the Philippines' furniture capital.  The floor tiles are composed of shards of mother of pearl to create a glitter effect similar to what happens to sand under the growing sun.  The roof is composed of glue-laminated timber and forms arches that resemble the waves of Cebu's beaches.  It was designed by Hong Kong's Integrated Design Associates in cooperation with local designers like Budji Layug, Royal Pineda, and Kenneth Cobonpue.  

Minor finishing works will be performed in the coming weeks.  The new facility will formally open its doors to passengers and commercial flights on July 1.  Once the new terminal opens, all international flights will depart from there.  The current terminal 1 will strictly be for domestic flights only.  The building is expected to increase capacity at the MCIA to at least 12.5 million passengers annually.  The cost of the terminal was ₱17.5 billion (US$337 million; £250 million; €285 million).  Passengers however are also going to see an increase of their terminal fee from ₱750 to ₱850 (US$16.30; £14.25; €16.10).  

MCIA currently serves international destinations such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Taipei, Seoul-Incheon, Busan, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, and Dubai (via Clark).   

GMCAC is a consortium composed of Indian infrastructure firm GMR and Filipino firm Megawide.  It was awarded the rights to operate the MCIA in November 2014.  Construction commenced in June 2015.  It will also be responsible for expanding Clark International Airport.  

Source: Cebu Daily News, Presidential Communications Group Facebook Page, Department of Transportation's Facebook Page