Aéroports de Paris to design P7.2-B budget airline terminal at Clark Intl Airport

Aéroports de Paris, the owner and manager of airports in the French capital, is taking on the design and consultation works of the proposed P7.2-billion budget airline terminal at Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
 
Philippines is building a new terminal as Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) fast-tracks the expansion of the current passenger terminal six months ahead of schedule to accommodate more long-haul flights and passengers.
 
CIAC president Victor Jose Luciano on Wednesday told reporters government is now studying if the new terminal will be under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme or be funded by the government out its budget.
 
"We're signing a MOA (memorandum of agreement) with Aéroports de Paris as the design and consulting company, a grant by the airport," Luciano told reporters on the sidelines of a media briefing for the Emirates Airlines Clark launch.
 
"If we sign in maybe a week, it will be finished in three months," he said.
 
In an e-mailed statement, Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the Aquino administration is currently studying plans for the proposed P7.2-billion Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCC) after long-haul airlines from the Middle East have started long-haul flights at Clark International Airport.
 
On Tuesday, Emirates Airlines inaugurated non-stop Dubai-Clark-Dubai daily flights.
 
“The government is currently studying the concept of a Low Cost Carrier Terminal at Clark Airport, because of its potential as gateway of the country,” Abaya said during the Emirates Airlines Clark inauguration.
 
The proposed LCC Terminal submitted by CIAC to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is envisioned to accommodate 10 to 15 million passengers a year.
 
"Depending on the study, if we can construct in the second quarter of 2014, we'll probably finish in the second quarter of 2016," Luciano said.
 
The LCC Terminal would serve budget carriers currently flying out of Clark, including Cebu Pacific, AirAsia Berhad, Jin Air, and Tiger Air Philippines.
 
Long-haul airlines include South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, Dragonair of Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates Airlines.
 
The rush to build a new budget terminal comes after Clark International Airport is expected to complete its expansion six months ahead of schedule.
 
"The construction of the terminal was contracted in July 1, 2013 to finish June 30, 2014. It will finish in December 31, 2013, so we'll be six months ahead of schedule," Luciano said.
 
On Tuesday, CIAC opened Clark International’s new departure area, which now has 34 check-in counters from 14, and which coincides with the inauguration of Emirates Airlines’ Dubai-Clark-Dubai schedule.
 
A glitch Luciano noted is that the passenger boarding bridge will be delayed for 60 days "due to procurement process… But bidding has already been finished and we are about to award the supplier," he added.
 
The new P360-million passenger terminal is designed to accommodate 5 million passengers a year, or more than double than current capacity of 2 million. - VS, GMA News