Clark airport turned over to private sector

CLARK, PAMPANGA—The Clark International Airport in Pampanga province—the biggest gateway in Central Luzon and an alternative to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport—was turned over to the private sector on Friday.

Luzon International Premier Airport Development (Lipad) Corp., a venture led by conglomerates JG Summit Holdings and Filinvest Development Corp. in partnership with a unit of Singapore’s Changi Airport, will operate Clark Airport for a period of 25 years.

“This is day one of Lipad O&M (operations and maintenance), the first public-private partnership project awarded under the administration of President Duterte,” Lipad president Bi Yong Chungunco said during the turnover ceremonies.

She said the consortium would open new food and beverage outlets, including a Starbucks outlet within the month. Lipad is also in talks with the airlines to integrate terminal fees in the ticket price for more passenger convenience.

Lipad, which is the Filipino word for fly, will operate the existing passenger terminal in Clark Airport, a former US air base.

A new terminal, which will at least double Clark Airport’s capacity to eight million passengers a year, will be turned over to Lipad by the middle of 2020.

“Now the Clark Airport will be in better hands, achieving greater heights,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said on Friday.