ANGELES CITY – Pampanga First District Rep. Carmelo “Jon” B. Lazatin II has reiterated his call for the speedy implementation of all development projects concerning the Clark International Airport (CRK).
This, as President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order No. 14 on February 28, 2017 “reverting the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) as a subsidiary of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and maintaining the policy supervision and operational control of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) over the CRK.”
“Considering the strong support of our President to the vision to convert Clark into an international civil-aviation complex which we are very thankful, we should facilitate faster all the development efforts at CRK, including other tourism-related plans, for the benefit of our constituents,” Lazatin pointed out during the recent meeting of the Special Committee on Bases Conversion at the House of Representatives chaired by Rep. EmmiCalixto-Rubanan of the Lone District of Pasay City.
Lazatin said all concerned government agencies must work together and support Duterte’s objective to advance CRK’s growth now that big-ticket projects are scheduled for completion.
Quoting BCDA president Vince Dizon, Lazatin disclosed the P2.9-billion CRK terminal expansion project is now on its pre-construction phase and targeted to break ground by fourth quarter of this year.
He said the DOTr has already released the P600-million first tranche funds intended for the crafting of a detailed engineering design to be used for building the ambitious undertaking that would increase the airport’s passenger transaction capacity to 8 million yearly.
The BCDA top honcho likewise revealed the government’s long-term plan to construct the Phase II and III of the aviation expansion terminal soon as the Phase I is finished by the end of 2019 or first quarter of 2020.
“The Duterte administration has a grand vision for Clark so we have to constantly remind our fellow government workers to speed up the process and start the projects the soonest,” emphasized Lazatinduring the Congress meeting.
He likewise vowed to periodically monitor the status of all development endeavour at CRK, citing the strategic significance of the former bastion of US military base in Asia-Pacific as the propeller of economic growth in Central Luzon.
“We can’t afford to lose the momentum generated from President Duterte’s vision for Clark. Let’s support all the programs and policies by actively prodding our government functionaries to accelerate collective efforts for their realization,” Lazatin said.