Free NAIA-1 facelift design? Thanks, but no – DOTC

Despite its rejection of a pro-bono redesign plan to give the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) a facelift, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) on Thursday lauded the team behind the design proposal. “We wish to thank designers Kenneth Cobonpue, Budji Layug, and architect Royal Pineda for responding to the invitation of several cabinet members to help in improving the image of the country by providing designs for the improvement of our airport,” the DOTC said in a statement at a press conference called earlier that day by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC). “Like all citizens who love this country, they responded wholeheartedly and worked with the NAIA on this project on a pro-bono basis. We appreciate the work and effort they have put into this project,” the DOTC statement added. Earlier at the NCC press conference, the designers could not hide their disappointment after DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas ad announced on Nov. 15 the P1.1 billion NAIA-1 rehabilitation plan was to push through but without making any mention about the designers' proposed design plan for the 30-year-old airport. “It’s natural for every designer to want to see his design being built,” Cobonpue said. “There’s of course personal disappointment on our part. But we understand that is part of the process.” “We also understand that in the course of their work in analysing, writing up and finalizing the complete rehabilitation plan for the facility, the DOTC has consulted other professionals. We also respect this decision as this is within their prerogative, and given the type of project this is, you really do need to consult a lot of professionals,” said NCC co-chair Bill Luz.   The DOTC has clarified that neither the department nor the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has a formal contract with the NCC. The airport’s rehabilitation will start in January next year to avoid disrupting arrivals and departures this holiday season. Malacañang announced last week that that Leandro V. Locsin & Associates, the architectural and engineering firm that originally built NAIA-1, would perform the rehabilitation. Priority will be given to structural and electro-mechanical repair before airport design aesthetics. Inspection of NAIA has already begun with the government hiring as consultants several architects and engineers responsible for building the Changi airport in Singapore, reputedly one of the world’s best. “There is no question that the country is in need of better airports and we welcome all efforts to address issues of safety, functionality, design, convenience, and comfort of all our airports, starting with our international airports,” the DOTC said. In the last couple of months, a travellers website had tagged the NAIA as the “world’s worst airport” while a CNN website said that NAIA was one of world's “most hated airports”. This prompted Malacañang to declare the administration’s intention to transform the NAIA into the “world’s most loved airport”.  — Marlon Anthony Tonson /LBG, GMA News