Guiao’s optimism stems from the recent move of the Aquino Administration authorizing the release of P1.2 billion for the project’s first phase.
This involves the construction of a new passenger terminal, raising CIA’s capacity to seven million from the current four million annually. “And there is another P2 billion coming in 2016,” Guiao added.
His optimism was further bolstered by the President’s go-signal for the execution of the multi-billion peso railway project leading to this freeport to be undertaken jointly by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).
The railway project is envisioned to provide the mass transit service to feed the CIA with passengers and cargo.
A public bidding for the CIA’s Phase-I project has been set for the first quarter of 2016 which is another clear indication that “it is a go,” the solon said in last Friday’s media forum “Balitaan” organized by the Capampangan in Media Inc.
(CAMI) and Clark Development Corp. (CDC) at the Bale Balita here.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Phase-I will be completed by 2017, Guiao said even as he called on his fellow stakeholders in Pampanga to remain vigilant until the provisions in the President’s approval of the project are implemented.
The solon was among those that campaigned for the Clark airport’s expansion to complement the operation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila given the rising number of foreign visitors, including Balikbayans visiting and departing from the country.
It has been pointed out that the Clark airport’s expansion and upgrading will spur the growth of investment and business activities not only in Pampanga but in the rest of Central Luzon.
What some quarters viewed as a delay in the approval of the project was interpreted by Guiao as the seriousness of the Aquino Administration to clear the way for its unhampered implementation up to 2022.
“I’m convinced that the project was allowed to go through all the processes of evaluation in the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to insulate it from any political developments in the future,” Guiao said.
As approved, the annual funding for the various phases of the project will be incorporated in the DOTC’s budget as in the P1.23 billion earmarked for the Phase-I passenger terminal until 2022.
