Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President-CEO Emigdio Tanjuatco clarified that the President and other members of the board of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) failed to meet as slated last June 30 for the final step needed for the release of the P1.2 billion budget.
The P1.2 billion already passed the scrutiny of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) of NEDA, as well as of the Cabinet Cluster on Transportation and Communications. Approval of the NEDA board, headed by the President, was the last step needed before the passenger terminal project could be bid out for construction, said Pampanga 1st District Rep. Joseller Guiao who had pushed for construction of the new terminal designed by the Aeroport de Paris.
In an interview during the recent general membership meeting of the Clark Investors and Locators Association (CILA) here, Tanjuatco said he was still optimistic that the President would convene the NEDA board, composed of members of his cabinet, and cite the release of the P1.2 billion as among his accomplishments during his last SONA on the fourth Monday of July.
“There is still time, so the project can be bid out to contractors and construction could start within this year,” Tanjuatco said.
Tanjuatco said he expected the President to convene the NEDA board by July 15 or the end of the month.
No neglect
He debunked criticisms that the Aquino administration has neglected the Clark airport and the rest of Pampanga, province of ex-Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whom his administration charged for plunder and detained.
“The Aquino administration has funnelled significant funds for the Clark airport. Aside from the P1.2 billion we expect, the administration also allocated some P270 million used for two modern fire trucks and other needs for the recent hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, and P500 million for the expansion of the existing passenger terminal,” he noted.
The P1.2 billion pending for approval by the NEDA board would be the first fund release for the P12 billion French-designed airport.
“There were initial moves to downgrade the design to bring down the cost, but we pushed for the adoption of the entirety of the French design because we insisted that it took into consideration all factors of how a truly world-class international passenger terminal should be. So now, the original design it will be done,” Guiao said.
Guiao also said “We expect that enough funds would be allocated in the next years for the other phases of the project so it would be finished in four to five years.” The new terminal would be able to process as many as 13 million passengers annually.
Guiao cited the “urgency” of upgrading the Clark airport amid congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the increasing size of aircraft, as well as the increase in international flights over the coming years.
The new terminal is expected to boost the development of Clark airport by attracting more airlines and investors to operate at the 2,367-hectare Clark Civil Aviation Complex and the rest of Central Luzon.
The volume of passengers using the Clark airport is expected to grow 150 percent to three million over the next two years from 1.2 million passengers per year.
Last year, a P417-million improvement project of the existing passenger terminal building increased Clark airport’s annual passenger capacity from 2.5 million to four million yearly.
