French airport operator set to do feasibility study on new Clark terminal

A team from the French government's Aeroports de Paris is expected to arrive on Monday to begin a feasibility study for a master plan and design for the P7.2-billion budget terminal that will be built at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex.

Aeroports de Paris, which owns and runs airports in the French capital, was tapped by the Department of Transportation and Communications in October last year to conduct the study.

Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Victor Jose Luciano said that aside from the feasibility study, government has already approved a budget of P600 million for new equipment including a new dual-passenger boarding bridge for the wide-bodied aircraft of Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways.

 

Clark International Airport is currently undergoing a P360-million rehabilitation and expansion project on its passenger terminal to boost capacity to five million passengers a year. The feasibility study is for a proposed terminal designed to handle up to 15 million passengers a year.

 

Aside from expansion, CIAC also plans to install navigational aids to replace the airport's 18-year-old equipment and upgrade perimeter fencing as well as the lighting system on the fences.

 

The company will also upgrade the airport's Emergency Services Unit with rapid intervention fire trucks as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization, he said.

 

“As you can see, the national government is fully supportive to develop Clark Airport,”  he said.

 

Airlines serviced at Clark include budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific), AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia, Jin Air of South Korea, Tiger Air Philippines, Asiana Airlines of South Korea, Dragonair of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and Emirates. — JDS, GMA News