By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
Despite the Luzon-wide lockdown, the construction of Clark International Airport’s ₱9. 36 Billion new passenger terminal building (PTB) remains on schedule and is almost complete, proponent Megawide announced.
“Construction of the new terminal, access roads, bus station, and car parks is 96 per cent complete with only minor works remaining.
Despite any challenges we are facing, we were actually ahead of schedule before the ECQ was implemented in Luzon,” according to Megawide Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edgar Saavedra.
Megawide has substantially completed the new terminal building shell. It has also in¬stalled mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire-protection (MEPF) works. The landside works are already in the final stages.
The proponent is confident that the construction project may still be turned over to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) before the July 31, 2020 completion date should the lockdown end as scheduled next Tuesday, April 14.
“The ECQ has minimal impact on our construction timelines for Clark International Airport primarily because engineering and construction are Megawide’s core strengths and the fact that we leveraged on what we learned from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) expansion,” the CEO pointed out.
MEGAWIDE GMR Construction Joint Venture, Inc. (MGCJV) is building the new Clark Airport PTB.
MGCJV won the construction package of the Clark International Airport expansion project in December 2017 by submitting the lowest bid at ₱9.36 billion under a hybrid Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.
The partnership of Megawide and Indian airport developer GMR is also behind the development of the MCIA and the contractor of the MCIA Terminal 2.
“We learned a lot during the construction of MCIA Terminal 2. We applied this in the Clark project, including engineering techniques such as the use of glued-laminated timber for a full roof structure, and many others,” Saavedra noted.
“That we were ahead of schedule in the construction of the new Clark PTB is a testament to the all the hard work and dedication of the people on the ground such as our engineering and construction teams; our architect, Integrated Design Associates, who also designed MCIA Terminal 2; and the support of our stakeholders, especially the BCDA and DOTR,” he added.
The Clark International Airport’s new terminal is designed to increase the capacity of the airport from 4 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 12 mppa.
Clark International Airport is envisioned to be Asia’s next premier gateway and is seen to help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.