DOTC set to seal pact with NAIA-3 builder

MANILA, Philippines - A contract for the finishing work on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 is expected to be signed with a Japanese firm early next month, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said yesterday.

“We feel we could get it signed within the first week of January,” Abaya said, referring to a civil works agreement with Takenaka Corp., the original contractor tapped for NAIA 3 construction. The finishing work is expected to cost $45 million.

He said they had originally planned to sign the agreement during the Christmas holiday but had to hold it off due to some pressing matters. He did not elaborate.

Abaya said that as a goodwill gesture, Takenaka agreed to respect contracts entered into by the DOTC for the operation of certain systems in the terminal.

Abaya’s predecessor, now Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, met with Takenaka officials in Japan in March and declared in June that a contract with the firm would be ready soon.

Roxas said Takenaka and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) had disagreement on some technical aspects of completing NAIA 3. The disagreement centered on the level of upgrade and rehabilitation needed for the terminal, Roxas said.

To reconcile their differences, Roxas said that they tapped experts from the Incheon Airport of South Korea to be a third party consultant.

Part of the completion work is the delivery of 23 airport systems, including baggage handling and reconciliation system, flight information display system, building management system, local area network, fire alarm and protection system, and passenger loading bridges.