BCDA, DOTC to jointly develop Clark airport

As the government revives plans to turn Clark International Airport into the country’s primary gateway, the Department of Transportation and Communications has tapped the Bases Conversion and Development Authority to help develop the crucial infrastructure.

Under the partnership, the DoTC will provide the policy and regulatory direction for aviation industry development as well as the timeline for development of the Clark airport.

The BCDA, on the other hand, will spearhead the actual construction of the airport, banking on its extensive legal, technical and financial clout. BCDA subsidiary Clark International Airport Corp. will operate the airport upon its completion and convince foreign carriers to move to the new hub.

Another BCDA subsidiary, Clark Development Corp., supported the CIAC board’s resolution to place BCDA at the helm of the airport development.

According to BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Paciano Casanova, the agency has the legal right to undertake the airport development because it owned the properties and assets of CIAC and CDC.

Casanova also noted that BCDA had the financial capability to spearhead such a big project. He cited the accomplishments of the agency such as the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Bonifacio Global City and Newport City.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency also mentioned the SCTEx as a model official development assistance project.

“The only way to build this vital airport terminal is through teamwork and leveraging on each other’s strengths. We have a very short window to make this happen and we want to do it now with the unity of purpose and singular focus in delivering the infrastructure that our country needs,” Casanova said in a statement.

The construction and development of Clark airport would be under the government’s flagship public-private partnership program and would be targeted for completion within the term of President Aquino, he added.

“We want to show that Filipinos are capable of implementing projects with transparency, integrity, quality, at the best cost and on time, which is doable under the Aquino administration,” Casanova said.