Piatco should build airport tunnel — Joker

The Philippine International Airport Terminals Co. (Piatco), proponent-builder of the controversial P35-billion Terminal 3, should be required to construct the P1-billion airport tunnel, Sen. Joker Arroyo said yesterday.

"With the tunnel, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport could be a world-class airport. Without the tunnel, NAIA cannot be classified as world class. Tunnels or overpasses are a must. They are ordinary fixtures in world-class airports because they save passengers time commuting from one terminal to another," he said.

He said the envisioned underground passageway would connect the three passenger terminals of NAIA.

It was part of the original plan Piatco presented to the government but the proponent-builder did not construct it when it ran into financial troubles, he added.

Without the tunnel linking the three terminal buildings, the overall development plan for the premier airport would be useless, he stressed.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which Arroyo chairs, had found the Piatco contract to be illegal and therefore null and void. The Supreme Court later made the same finding, forcing Piatco to abandon finishing touches on the nearly complete Terminal 3, which is near Villamor Airbase.

The government and Piatco are now negotiating a settlement. The cost for the project has been estimated to range from $450 million to a high of $650 million.

Under the overall NAIA development plan, Terminal 3 would be used by all international carriers except Philippine Airlines, which would continue to use Terminal 2. The old Terminal 1 would be devoted for domestic carriers.

The envisioned tunnel would give passengers easy access to the three terminal buildings.

Arroyo said part of the negotiated settlement between Piatco and the government should be a requirement for Piatco to build the tunnel that it had abandoned.

"In the alternative, the cost of constructing the tunnel should be deducted from the settlement price. The non-construction of the tunnel, it must be noted, was one of the factors why the Supreme Court voided the Piatco contract," he said.

The passageway has been estimated to cost between P800 million to P1 billion.

Arroyo said officials negotiating for the government should not accept any Piatco proposal that would mean additional cost to taxpayers to avoid suspicion that they are favoring the proponent-builder.

He warned them that the Senate would not hesitate launching another investigation if it smells a sweetheart deal in the making. – Jess Diaz, Jose Rodel Clapano