President Vince Dizon of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) is bent on pursuing the long delayed Clark International Airport Passenger Terminal Building designed by the French firm Aeroports Du Paris Inc, (ADPI).
During the term of former President Benigno Aquino, the Clark Airport Passenger Terminal never took-off which should have been started before President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office this year.
However, during an interview at ANC Headstart hosted by Karen Davila, Dizon stressed the need to build a second Passenger Terminal for Clark airport since it will help in the government’s effort to decongest Metro Manila especially the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
According to Dizon, Metro Manila is burdened with heavy traffic, since most of the vehicles traveling along EDSA are heading to the NAIA. There are an estimated 8 million passengers in the Central and Northern Luzon and 10 percent of which only used Clark airport in Pampanga. The rest of it are flying out of the country via the NAIA traversing the congested EDSA, that is why we need to build a second terminal at Clark airport to get a big chunk of this passenger volume.
The French government had provided a grant to the Philippine government to undertake a Feasibility Study conducted by ADPI for the Master Development Plan of the Clark International Airport which included the development of a Second Passenger Terminal.
Under the original ADPI Master Plan, First Phase of the Passenger Terminal will accommodate 8 million capacity by 2017; Second Phase, 22 million by 2022; third phase, 46 million by 2025 and the Ultimate Phase with 80 million capacity by 2032.
Dizon said that he will pursue this project and assured that there will be a world-class passenger yerminal at the Clark airport before President Duterte’s term ends in 2022.
With the support of Duterte, Clark airport will play a vital role in the government’s effort to decongest Metro Manila.