Business, civic leaders laud GMA decision to open NAIA-3 on Dec. 15

President Arroyo’s decision to open the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Dec. 15 is a "right step leading toward economic recovery and progress and the strengthening of Filipino pride."

This was the statement made by business and civic leaders as quoted in a press statement by NAIA Terminal 3 concessionaire Philippine International Air Terminals Inc. (Piatco) yesterday.

"Finally, we have a truly world-class airport," NAIA 3 general manager Col. Guillermo Cunanan said. Cunanan hosted a detailed tour of the new airport terminal, the largest building in the country to date, measuring 1.1 kilometers in length and four storys high.

He said the Terminal 3 facilities compare favorably with airport facilities in the international hubs of Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand.

Officers of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO) headed by Tomas Ng of Asia Brown Boveri took part in the walk-through tour with Tarlac Rep. Butz Aquino, businessman Jose Concepcion Jr., former Presidential Commission for Good Government (PCGG) chairman Quintin Doromal and civic leaders Roberto Viray, Rosie Go and Efren de Guzman.

They expressed "high appreciation for the spaciousness and adequacy of the facilities available for airline passengers and their visitors, as well as for the security installations designed to protect airlines and airport occupants against terrorism," the Piatco statement said.

Piatco also said the walk-through guests were confident the President would "stick by her decision to open the terminal as a symbol of Filipino architectural and engineering ability and as a magnet for more tourists and investments that would boost economic recovery and progress in the Philippines."

The Piatco statement added the business and civic leaders "expressed hope that the NAIA 3 facility would be inaugurated on Dec. 15 as ordered by President Arroyo in time for the launching of the ‘Visit the Philippines Year 2003’ tourism project."

Cunanan told the terminal’s visitors that airline passengers will be allowed to mix with their visitors and well-wishers before departure or after arrival in spacious lounges and restaurants. Those greeting or seeing off passengers will no longer have to wait uncomfortably outside the airport terminal, as they do now when fetching or seeing off their family members and friends at the other NAIA terminals.

The new terminal’s features include a 20,000-square meter shopping mall, 140 check-in counters, 118 immigration counters, 40 customs counters, nine moving walkways and two car parks that can accommodate a maximum of 3,200 vehicles. The terminal itself is capable of accommodating 13 million passengers annually.