In an April 18 letter to Regional Development Council (RDC) chairman Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado of Bulacan, Renato G. Romero, Pam- Cham vice chairman, said this will “facilitate the fast and easy access” of passengers in the north to the Clark International Airport (CIA) here.
“I …humbly propose to the government and for the RDC III’s support, the construction of a North Quad Railway System that will link Clark to Regions 1, 2, 3, and CAR,” Romero said.
The businessman said this will also significantly contribute to the full development of the Clark airport and its declaration as a premier gateway to the Philippines which has been a long standing advocacy of PamCham.
“Unfortunately and for reasons we fail to fathom, despite the airport’s many attributes that, by all sense and logic, makes it an ideal international portal to the country, it has yet to be declared as such,” Romero lamented.
“We continue to hope however that somehow, someday – sooner rather than later-, this aspiration will indeed become a reality,” he added.
Romero said Pam- Cham is also throwing its support to the move that “Clark’s development should parallel the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) because admittedly, Manila is and will always be the center of trade, commerce and finance.”
As an added bonus on this, Romero said, having Clark as a twin airport facility will “considerably relieve congestion in Metro Manila, improve the quality of its living conditions and at the same time contribute to the spread of growth and progress northwards.”
PamCham has recently declared its support to the Advocacy for the Dual Airport Priority (ADAPT) calling for a dual airport system with NAIA.
“It is my belief that efforts at promoting Clark’s fundamental advantages as an international gateway must not wane but rather be intensified to keep it within the ambit of awareness, not only of the national leadership, -both the current and incoming administration-, but of the international community as well,” he said.
Romero said it is more sensible to take advantage of the local catchment area of Regions 1,2,3 and CAR which is currently estimated at 23 million.
He said this is enough to sustain Clark airports’ operations and maximize utilization of its facilities considering that CIA is considered one of the biggest aviation complexes in Asia with two runways in parallel configuration that can easily be extended to four kilometers to accommodate the new generation wide-bodied aircrafts.”
Romero said this is even more significant given the current situation where Clark’s potential is hindered by its distance from Manila and noting that the provision of a critical railway system that will link it to NAIA may, as of yet, be “another wishful thinking.”
