NAIA-3 safety evaluation to be completed in October

The structural and safety evaluation being conducted by five groups on the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal III (NAIA-3) will be finished by the middle of October, according to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Alfonso Cusi.

Cusi, in an interview, said yesterday they have set Oct. 16 as a timeline, wherein they expect all four separate structural checks on the said terminal, which was hit by the collapse of a 100 square-meter portion of its ceiling last March 27, to be finished by the different groups undertaking them.

"The evaluation, the structural check, everything will be finished, we expect the timeline set at Oct. 16," Cusi told The Star.

It will be recalled that as much as four separate probes are being conducted on the said terminal, namely: the random ceiling inspection being conducted jointly by Japanese firm Takenaka Corp. and the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP); the safety and operability evaluation by US firm Gleeds; the design evaluation by British firm Ove Arup; and the structural and safety evaluation by British firm TCGI.

Cusi said that they expect the structural evaluation of TCGI to be the last to be wrapped up since this check would have to await the safety and operability evaluation of Gleeds.

"They would have to await the verification of the operability and safety of the terminal," Cusi said.

Last month, ASEP, the third party entity hired by MIAA to determine the cause of the ceiling collapse last March 27, found that poor workmanship and use of sub-standard materials were one of the main factors that led to weakening of the structure. The collapse took place a mere four days before a scheduled test-run of the facility.

Cusi said MIAA would have to shell out the money for all the inspections.

With the release and study of the findings in all the inspections, Cusi said the government will then be able to assess its options in resolving the problems surrounding NAIA-3.