Foreign consultant warned of NAIA 3 defects

A foreign consultant hired by the Philippine government has warned about the defects of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal III originally scheduled for a soft opening on Friday. Senator Sergio Osmena III made the revelation during the Senate committee of the whole hearing on the proposed 2006 budget of the Department of Transportation and Communication. The soft opening of the new airport was scrapped after its ceiling collapsed last Monday. Osmena said Richard Francis Klenk, a foreign consultant, has already raised several issues concerning the safety, environmental soundness and structural integrity of NAIA 3. Klenk was hired by the Philippine government after the Philippine International Air Terminals Company filed an arbitration case before the International Chamber of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration in Washington D.C. Osmena noted that in his report dated April 2004, Klenk raised "serious concerns as to the life safety and environmental soundness of Terminal 3." "If we don't disclose this to the public after what happened last Monday, we would be accused of a cover up if something serious happens, and I'm not willing to take the chance," Osmena said. Klenk reported "serious cracks have been observed in concrete slabs, beams and aprons. With regard to the cracks in the concrete slabs and beams, these can potentially threaten the structural integrity of the entire structure." Klenk also raised concerns if piles were installed properly, in particular with respect to lateral deflections, saying this would have an effect on the "soundness of the foundations upon which the Terminal 3 structures have been constructed." "Remember the foundation contract for the Terminal 3 was a sweetheart deal with the construction firm of former secretary and general manager Bebot Alvarez. They had the foundation contract, and we were made to understand that one or two of the piles are sinking, in other words, it didn't hit rock bottom. And that's what you should look into because that would have caused the weakness of the ceiling," Osmena said. Manila International Airport Authority general manager Alfonso Cusi admitted that some of the issues raised in the Klenk report were not included in the 42 defects of the terminal listed and disclosed publicly by building contractor Takenaka Corp. and Japan Airport Consultants (JAC). Cusi said they were aware of the Klenk report and the government is already using it to bolster the government's position in the arbitration case pending before the ICC. He said: “We know there are 42 issues that we are looking at, including the structural, even up to this moment we are looking at the structural issues." Osmena doubted the claim of airport authorities that they have already begun to address the defects found by JAC and Klenk. "The scope of work is not even finished. The scope of work is something like this, you're my contractor, you gonna do work for me, so you list all the items that has to be done. How can you open the terminal when your own contractor has not finished deciding what needs to be fixed?" he said. Cusi said the government would need about $6 million to address the remaining two per cent uncompleted portion of the new terminal or a total of about $10 million to address all of the defects.-GMANews.TV