Piatco pours P26B in construction of NAIA Terminal 3

A total of P26 billion ($500 million) has already been poured by the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCO) for the construction of the NAIA International Passenger Terminal 3 (NAIA-IPT 3), according to a top company official.

"To date, we have put in around P26 billion for the construction of the new airport facility," said Jeffrey Cheng, PIATCO executive director.

PIATCO is a consortium of Filipino, German, Singaporean and Japanese companies namely: Flughafen Frankfurt Main AG, People’s Aircargo and Warehousing Co. Inc., Philippine Airport and Ground Services Terminals Inc., Philippine Airport and Ground Services Inc., SB Airport Investments Inc., and Nissho Iwai Corp.

Owing in large part to the multibillion-peso airport project, the Department of Trade and Industry has reported a 1.6 percent growth in construction demand for 2001. The National Statistic Office pointed out that a major construction project such as the construction of the NAIA-IPT 3, benefits 67 other allied industries.

Cheng said that the large amount invested by PIATCO, a significant component of which is foreign funded, shows that investor interest and confidence in the Philippines is at an optimum level.

"This is highly indicative of investor confidence in the Philippines," said Cheng. He added that the participation of foreign investors in building the airport has freed government from funding the construction of a much-needed airport facility.

Cheng stressed that the project has already provided over 4,000 direct and 20,000 indirect jobs. Furthermore, he assured that it will continue to present employment opportunities to Filipinos.

"Considering that the NAIA-IPT 3 sits on a 183,000 square meter lot, much larger than the 40,000 square meter Terminal 1 means it will certainly generate a lot more jobs," Cheng said.

Construction of the modern airport facility is set to be finished as scheduled in November of this year.

"The completion and operation of NAIA-IPT 3 will put in place a world-class air facility that Filipinos can truly be proud of as it will give tourists and potential investors a good first impression of the country," said Cheng of the facility that is capable of serving 13 million passengers yearly as compared to the six million capacity of the present Terminal 1.

It also boasts safety and security features for the benefit of passengers. There will be closed circuit television (CCTV) facilities in almost every corner of the new airport. It will also have a four-storey shopping mall and 3,200 capacity carpark that form part of the terminal’s total 200,000 sq. meter total floor area.