According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of Philippines, New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) aims to close down the operation of the Terminal 4 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after the completion of Terminal 2’s expansion.
The New NAIA Infra Corporation (NNIC) composed of conglomerates San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMC), RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc. and Incheon International Airport Corp. is all set to take over the operation of NAIA by September 14, along with the expansion project of Terminal 2.
The expansion of the three terminals includes the repair and replacement of the passenger boarding bridges, upgrade or replacement of the baggage handling system, improvement of inter-terminal passenger and baggage transfer, construction of new surface access and airside roads, as well as improvement of passenger pick-up and drop-off flow and improvement of the existing automated terminal information system and vital communication systems.
DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, in his speech delivered by assistant secretary Hector Villacorta at the EJAP seminar over the weekend, said NNIC plans to expand two of the existing four passenger terminals.
“The north wing of Terminal 2 will be expanded towards the Philippine Village Hotel and Nayong Pilipino area. The south wing will be extended towards Terminal 1 after the International Cargo Complex and fuel farm are relocated,” Bautista said.
NAIA Terminal 1 will be rehabilitated, while Terminal 4, that currently serves domestic flights, will eventually be closed and it will be repurposed as a warehouse and the site of administrative offices after Terminal 2 has been expanded, said Bautista.
In addition, the north concourse of Terminal 3 will be expanded to accommodate 25 million passengers per year, from 14 million.
Also, passengers using Terminal 3 will have convenient access to the Metro Manila Subway, with the final station of the subway’s airport service to be constructed in front of the terminal.
These expansion plans will increase the passenger capacity of Terminal 2 from nine million passengers per year to 32 million and further increase it to 60 million. A new remote apron will be designated for general aviation, while aircraft parking will increase from 61 to 104 bays.
NNIC also plans to build adjacent to the north wing of Terminal 2 a three-story Airport Express Hotel to accommodate those who missed their connecting flights and those who have early morning departures.
“Vehicle parking outside of Terminals 1 and 3 will more than double — from 5,800 to 12,400 slots. At Terminal 1, a multi-level carpark building will rise with an area of more than 62,000 square meters, while at Terminal 3, a new five-level carpark will be added to the existing carpark,” Bautista said.
Additionally, an access road will be constructed towards the north wing of Terminal 2 once the expansion is finished. Meanwhile, NNIC plans to install various systems to increase NAIA’s air traffic movement from 40 movements to 48 per hour.
These include an electronic flight strip system which is part of the modernization of the communications, navigation and surveillance systems for air traffic management; an automated weather observation system; an advanced surface movement and ground control system; an automated terminal information system; and an automated weather observation system.
Last March, NNIC led by SMC signed the concession agreement with the government for the P170.6-billion NAIA modernization project initially for 15 years, subject to extension for another 10 years.
NNIC is expected to spend over P202 billion for the 25-year concession, which includes the P122.3 billion capital outlay, P30 billion upfront payment and P2 billion fixed annual payment or P50 billion, which is on top of the 82.16 percent revenue share that will also be remitted to the government yearly.
On the jobs of the airport employees, according to the DOTr Secretary, one of the safeguards they negotiated with SMC is the assurance that employees of the NAIA would get their retirement pay while at the same time being assured of a re-offer of employment.
He also pointed out that the employment safeguard would be especially beneficial to NAIA contractuals who would then have a better chance of employment.
As agreed with the SMC consortium, all NAIA employees would be paid their retirement package upon the takeover. However, the NAIA employees would also be automatically accepted as new probationary applicants subject to a performance review.
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