Palace approves P1.16B budget for NAIA 1 rehabilitation

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang has given the green light for the release of P1.16 billion for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 and “revive (it) as a world-class transport facility.”

Despite the government’s bid to increase tourist arrivals into the country, NAIA 1 has repeatedly made the list of the world’s worst airports based on Internet surveys.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a statement that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) will use the fund for urgent structural retrofitting and other rehabilitation work, as well as the construction of a rapid-exit taxiway.

“If we are to revive NAIA 1, we must first address the structural integrity of the terminal for safety of travelers,” Abad said.

“The acceleration of the NAIA 1 rehabilitation, as well as the reconfiguration of the funding mix for the project, was due to the sense of urgency displayed by Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas,” Abad added.

Abad said the P1.16 billion was sourced through a reallocation from the public-private partnership support fund in the DoTC’s budget for 2011.

Not one item in the government’s list of PPP projects has been started last year, although the contract for the 4-kilometer Daang Hari toll road was successfully auctioned off in December.

The budget chief said that of the NAIA 1 budget, P340 million will be used for retrofitting to improve the structural integrity of the terminal building and make it compliant with the National Structural Code of 2010.

The decades-old terminal was originally designed to accommodate 4.5 million passengers yearly, but now services some 7.3 million passengers.

Also, P500 million has been allocated for architectural, engineering and interior design and works to improve the terminal’s internal facilities.

“This will not only mean the replacement of worn-out interiors but also the increase of immigration counters,” Abad said.

To address runway congestion, P300 million of the total fund will be used for the construction of a rapid exit taxiway.

Finally, P20 million will be used for the complete rehabilitation of the 72 toilets of NAIA 1.