Philippines to spend $45 million for airport upgrade

Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport: For upgrade. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has released $45 million to spruce up its newest airport terminal in a bid to boost tourism.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Tuesday that the completion and upgrade of Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport will ease traffic on the 32-year-old Terminal 1.

Terminal 3, which opened in 2008, is already operating over its capacity, with 13.8 million passengers last year, more than 800,000 over its capacity. Once it is upgraded, it will handle more international flights, easing the load on Terminal 1, which is solely for international flights.

Originally designed for 4.5 million passengers yearly, Terminal 1 handled 8.2 million passengers last year, up from 7.8 million in 2011. A majority of the passengers at the airport’s Terminal 2 are domestic passengers.