CEOs AND SOLON. CIAC President-CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano, BCDA President-CEO Atty. Arnel Casanova, CDC President-CEO Atty. Arthur Tugade and Pampanga 1st District Rep. Joseller Guiao exude optimism at The Clark Challenge: Stakeholders’ Summit 2014 held at Widus Hotel, Clark Freeport Zone.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CIAC-CCO
CLARK FREEPORT – The danger posed by congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was a major focus in a summit attended here yesterday by some 300 poltical and business leaders from Central Luzon, amid calls for the government to finally shift focus on the Clark International Airport (CIA) in this freeport.
Speaking during the summit dubbed “The Clark Challenge: Stakeholders’ Summit 2014,” Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President- CEO Victor Jose Luciano cited experts as saying that “NAIA will fade out by 2018.” By that time, Metro Manila’s growth would come to a freeze, he added, noting that only Clark would be the most viable alternative to the NAIA.
This was echoed in his talk during the summit by Pampanga 1st District Rep. Joseller Guiao, convenor of the
summit, who cited “aviation experts who can’t figure out any good reason to stretch the NAIA to the limits when there is an alternative (at Clark).”
“The capacity of NAIA is only up to 30 flights per day. Now there are 40 fl ights per day,” he noted. “Clark is like an
athlete with all the skills and capability but sitting at the end of the bench waiting for the coach. All it wants is a break,” he said amid criticisms from Central Luzon leaders on delays on infrastructure projects related to
the full development of the airport here as the country’s premiere gateway.
In 1994, then Pres. Ramos issued an executive order declaring Clark as the future site of the country’s premier international airport. Plans for this included the creation of a world-class passenger terminal and a modern
railway system linking this freeport to Metro Manila.
Guiao said that while he did not want to create panic, he cited experts as warning that “safety at NAIA has become tight and slim.” “It’s now a serious safety issue involving lives and properties. We are like playing Russian roulette,” he added.
Luciano, however, own played allegations that the government has put the development of the CIA to the backburner, as he announced that the French firm Aeroport de Paris has already started the design for the P7.2-billion low cost carrier (LCC) passenger terminal here.
He also cited the upgrading of the current terminal whose operations capacity has been increased to serve from 2.5 million passengers to four million per year. “We now have 36 checkin counters at our airport and the departure lounge is now even larger that the airport in Macau, “ he said.
The cost of upgrading was from the P1-billion loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) as approved by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) which has direct supervision over the CIAC.
Luciano also announced the allocation of P200 million to replace the 18-year-old instrumental landing system (ILS) which, he noted, would be better than any such aviation navigational device in the entire country.
He also noted the purchase of modern airport firetruck equipped with a “high reach extendable turret” capable of penetrating the aircraft’s fuel tank into which it can pump chemicals to prevent explosion.
