CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT—It’s all systems go for the July opening of the new passenger building terminal of this airport to the flying public.
A walk-through organized by the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development (LIPAD) Corp. for members of the media on Wednesday showed the ongoing facilitation of the new terminal building which has a floor area of 110,000 square meters and a capacity of eight million passengers annually.
It can be recalled that this airport’s new passenger terminal building was handed over by its builder, Megawide-GMR, to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and the Department of Transportation in a simple ceremony on Jan. 22.
In turn, BCDA and DOTr turned over the new building to LIPAD, a consortium of Changi Airports Philippines Pte. Ltd., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc., which won the bidding for its operations and maintenance.
Teri Flores, LIPAD head of corporate communications, led the media group as she detailed the ongoing facilitation and assured its July opening.
Flores also described how the new terminal’s environment blended with and highlighted the new edifice pointing out that it pays homage to the peaks of majestic Mount Arayat in the east, described as the only mountain on a plain, and the Zambales mountain ranges in the west, where the fabled Mount Pinatubo lies.
Passengers will also be able to easily decipher international boarding gates from domestic boarding gates, she said. Vibrant green dominates the international boarding gates while serene blue is for domestic boarding gates. The blue refers to the waters of Manila Bay where the area faces, Flores said, while the green represents the landscape of Mount Arayatwhich faces the international boarding gates of the airport.
The arrival area is located on the ground floor while the departure area is located on the second floor.
Flores said an area in the lobby entrance can accommodate passenger entourage or meeters and greeters, as Filipinos are known to always have their friends and members of their family tag along at the airport.
Flores said a transport terminal will soon be operational as well as a parking building where flyers can park their vehicles while the rail connectivity is still to be finalized.
Even the toilets, Flores said, can cater to each person – males, females, LGBTQ, physically challenged, and for families.
Vaccine hub
Meanwhile, Bi Yong Chungunco, LIPAD CEO, said the old terminal is slated to become a “vaccine hub” because of its proximity to cold storage facilities and the handling of the vaccines will be minimized.
“We have identified three cold storage facilities,” she said, adding that representatives of the Department of Health Region 3 have already inspected the cold storage facilities on Tuesday. “We are now just waiting for the vaccines and their recommendation, she added.
By July, she said, when the domestic terminal is already transferred to the new building, everything will be ready but if the government needs it (vaccine hub) now, we can have a small area in the meantime, she assured.
The whole vaccination process will be in the old terminal, she said.
*All photos by Ric Gonzales
