CONSULTANTS from Singapore’s Changi Airport have arrived in Manila to conduct an appraisal of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Department of Transportation and Communications said in a statement yesterday.
The department expects to get a full report of the Changi consultants’ findings in early January.
“This is the initial step to identify key areas at NAIA Terminal 1 that urgently need rehabilitation. This gives us confidence that cooperating with Changi airport will reap positive results, particularly in line with our goal of delivering an efficient, distinctively Filipino and customer-friendly airport,” Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II said in the statement.
The team is led by Changi Airport Vice-President Jose V.A. Pantangco. The appraisal is part of a P1.16-billion rehabilitation and upgrade plan for Metro Manila’s main airport terminal, which was reported as one of the worst in the world.
The terminal’s original designer, L. V. Locsin and Associates, has been tapped for the project, which Mr. Roxas said could be completed by mid-2013.
“Our experience at Changi Airport, and in other advisory projects elsewhere in Asia, Russia and Europe, is that the size of an airport is not a limitation to achieve smooth and efficient operations. But one thing is certain: if service levels are improved and people get a lot more comfortable when they go through an airport, they tend to stay a bit longer, shop more, thus enhance the airport’s revenue-generating capacity, and generally say nice things about the airport when they get home,” Mr. Pantangco said.
The government is “provisionally allocating” P1.16 billion to NAIA for: a structural upgrade including the retrofitting of columns and reinforcing of slabs and beams; a rapid exit taxiway to relieve runway congestion and minimize delays and waiting time for flights; repair and renovation of 72 toilet facilities; and aesthetics and interior design.
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By: Emilia Narni J. David
Source: Business World, Nov. 28, 2011
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