Change to be proud of

Here’s something to be proud of: The controversial Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport began full commercial operation early this month after more than 10 years of being tied in tedious investigation and court litigation.

Foreign airlines were more than willing to move to Naia 3 from the aging and congested Terminal 1, which has become a symbol of the Philippines’ utter lack of infrastructure required to support a rapidly growing economy, leading to its image as the worst airport in the world.

First to move to the 63.5-hectare Naia 3 was giant American carrier Delta Air. Four other foreign carriers—KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific—are also moving there this month and the next. It is estimated that the transfer of the five airlines alone would decongest Naia 1 by 3 million passengers a year.

In 2011, Naia 1 topped the list of the “Worst Airports in the World,” as ranked by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, an interactive website that gathers reports from various reviewers. Naia 1’s rating worsened from the website’s 2010 rankings that put it as the world’s fifth-worst airport and the worst in the region. The very poor ranking of Naia was based on reviews of travelers who complained of “safety concerns, lack of comfortable seating, rude staff, hostile security, poor facilities, no (or few) services to pass the time, bribery, being kicked out, and general hassles of being in the airport.”

It was a very long wait for Terminal 3. As Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya noted, the country’s premier airport should have been opened more than a decade ago. The project was awarded 17 years ago, in 1997, and would have been completed in 2002 had it not been for legal issues. The contract to build Terminal 3 was awarded to the consortium of German firm Fraport AG and the local Philippine International Airport Terminal Co. (Piatco), but it was nullified in 2002 on allegations of irregularities. The government expropriated Terminal 3 in 2004. Fraport and Piatco filed suits abroad to recover their investment in the Terminal 3 project. Piatco filed a separate case at the Singapore-based International Chamber of Commerce, which, however, ruled in favor of the Philippine government in 2011. The local Court of Appeals last year said the government should pay Piatco $371.43 million following the expropriation of Naia 3.

The full operation of Naia 3 is not the only good news on the airport front. The Department of Transportation and Communications has announced that it expected to complete the rehabilitation of Naia 1 by January. According to Abaya, the rehabilitation of the country’s main airport, which started last February, would be finished ahead of the Apec Summit in Manila in November 2015. The rehabilitation is being handled by DMCI Holdings.

Built in the 1970s, Terminal 1 serves as the gateway for foreign commercial carriers and is one of four terminals within the Naia complex—the country’s busiest airport serving more than 30 million passengers a year.

Looking at the bigger picture, however, the Philippines must prepare for a surge in passenger traffic at the Naia. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) noted in a study that the Naia complex would no longer accommodate the increasing passenger traffic as early as next year. The study, commissioned by the DOTC, said that by 2015, Naia would be handling 37.78 million passengers—16.46 million international passengers and 21.31 million domestic travellers. By 2040, the total passenger traffic at Naia would reach 101.49 million.

In 2012, Naia accommodated 31.88 million passengers, exceeding the facility’s capacity of 30 million passengers a year. The Jica study proposed the investment of P436 billion to build a new international gateway and related infrastructure at Sangley Point in Cavite that could accommodate 55 million passengers a year. The proposed airport is projected to start operation by 2025.

Airports are where tourists get their first impressions of a place they are visiting. At its low, the Philippines’ premier airport was adjudged the worst in the world. Today, everything changes as tourists—and even our very own balikbayan—will be welcomed by a modern airport terminal with facilities comparable to the best in the world.