CLARK FREEPORT—A new Clark airport terminal for domestic and international passengers with an 8-million-visitor capacity will be finished within the first half of 2019.

This was announced by Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Vivencio B. Dizon during the media forum “Talk Widus”, organized by the Pampanga Press Club at the Widus Hotel and Casino here on Wednesday.

Dizon’s presentation was part of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” mantra for the biggest infrastructure push in Philippine history in the next five-and-a-half years.

In his PowerPoint presentation, Dizon showed the new Clark airport terminal occupying 82,000 square meters and has a capacity of 8 million passengers, which can be expanded to accommodate another 8 million for a total of 16 million passengers.

It is part of the 2,367-hectare Clark Civil Aviation Complex (CCAC) designed by the French firm Aéroports de Paris, which has three airline passenger terminals when completed. This can accommodate 80 million passengers.

A transport hub will be established in the middle of the three terminals, with train, bus, taxi and car lanes.

Dizon said bidding will start in May and awarding of contract will be done in September. It will be finished within the first half of 2019, he said.

The old Clark airport terminal will be converted into a separate VIP terminal building, he added.

The multimillion-dollar ADP design was a grant from the French government made during the Aquino administration, but was deemed too big by then-President Benigno S. Aquino III during its presentation to the National Economic and Development Authority.

ADP refused to scale down its design, even as the Aquino administration pushed for a redesign of a smaller terminal.

The ADP design will be made in five phases, according to Dizon, with the first phase completed by 2019.

Dizon said a second runway will be constructed 2 kilometers apart from the primary runway during the implementation of Phase 4 of the ADP design.

“Right now we are revalidating everything. Together with the DOTr  [Department of Transportation], we are doing our due diligence,” Dizon said.

“What I can tell you is what was budgeted by the previous administration at about P15 billion which, sad to say, was not implemented,” he said.

“This includes the taxiways and apron, and other horizontal development and terminal,” he added.

Dizon said as soon as they finish with their revalidation by April, they will announce the final cost.

Meanwhile, Dizon said the BCDA has released more than P100 million to the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) as part of its share in the revenues of the CCAC that was previously withheld by the past BCDA administration due to the controversy generated by Executive Order (EO) 64 signed by Aquino on December 21, 2011. The EO transferred CIAC from the Office of the President to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), making it an agency attached to the DOTC.

EO 716 mandates that CIAC gets a 50-percent share from the proceeds of the CCAC, until Aquino signed EO 64.

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/bcda-sees-completion-of-new-clark-airport-terminal-by-2019/