MAKATI CITY – “Clark is the best bet.”
Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan said Clark best fits the bill as new international gateway of the country, in the wake of the flight delays and congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.
“I am a Capampangan [and that is why I support Clark],” Pangilinan who traces his roots to Apalit town added in jest, but was all serious in batting for the former US military installation given its world-class runways and its space for present and future expansions.
The Clark civil aviation complex covers some 2,500 hectares while NAIA has all of some 600 hectares.
Clark’s has parallel runways while compared to NAIA’s single one. The main runway of Clark was built a few years before the end of the US occupation of Clark, reportedly with specification of its being an alternative landing site for the space shuttle.
The biggest military aircraft in the world, the C-5 Galaxy of the US Air Force made regular flights to Clark at the time of the Americans.
Two years ago, the largest commercial aircraft in the world, the Airbus A-380 made its flawless landing at Clark, demonstrating the capacity of the runway to handle even the wide-bodied planes.
In informal discussions with provincial journalists on the side of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. stockholders meeting at Dusit Thani Hotel here over the weekend, Pangilinan deplored NAIA where “shake rattle and roll” made standard landing procedure.
Last year Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. expressed interest in building a second terminal for the Clark International Airport as well as a high-speed rail system connecting Clark to Metro Manila using the North Luzon Expressway which is operated by Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
Pangilinan clarified at the weekend meeting that the railway track is better suited at the lateral area instead of the NLEx median.
This, he said, to cut on additional costs and delay to the construction that would arise from the tracks directly crossing existing vehicular and pedestrian overpasses across the entire length of NLEx.
Pangilinan added that the Clark-Metro Manila line will have minimal and limited stops, primarily near SM City North Edsa, and Buendia, Makati, in less-than-an-hour runs. .
New budget terminal
Clark International Airport Corp. President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano had disclosed that a new budget terminal is being proposed to be constructed at CIA, in addition to an existing terminal and the second CIA terminal.
Luciano said the proposed budget terminal with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers is estimated to cost P8 billion.
According to Pangilinan, “terminals are just the most obvious sites at airports.” He said airports should also have a radar system and other necessary facilities and equipment.
While he saw the need for reliable airports, Pangilinan conceded, “I understand that not all of them could have sophisticated equipment.”
The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement, a Pampanga-based multisectoral group advocating for the full operationalization of the CIA as the country;s premier international gateway, urged the government to give Pangilinan “ a shot at developing the CIA.”
“MVP [Pangilinan] should really be allowed to develop Clark and its airport given his reputation as businessman.
He is a Capampangan with pure and good intentions for not only for his cabalens but for all Filipinos,” PGKM Chairman Ruperto Cruz said.
