- Details
- Category: Top News
- 01 Jun 2014
- Written by Lorenz S. Marasigan
LAPU-LAPU, Cebu—The concessionaire of the P17.5-billion Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) may infuse more investments to expand the capacity of the planned international terminal in the next few years, a top official of the firm revealed.
GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. Chief Executive Advisor Andrew A. Harrison told reporters that his firm is keen on ensuring that the terminals at the Cebu-based gateway would not be congested even if the tourism sector here would post more robust growth.
The capacity augmentation is also based on the demand of airlines operating out of Cebu, such as Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines.
“Our expansion will be driven to meet the demands of the airlines on capacity. We will provide capacity ahead of schedule—we will not be a constrained airport,” Harrison said.
He noted that GMR-Megawide is ready to pump in more investments should it see the need for the terminal’s capacity expansion.
“We are ready to spend what is necessary prudently without burdening the consumer with the development that needs to be done,” Harrison stressed.
The tandem between GMR Infrastructures Ltd. and Megawide Construction Corp. bagged the multibillion-peso contract to develop the MCIA earlier this year.
“Within six months, people would start feeling the changes in the terminal. These include shorter queuing times for processing and reorganization of space and more comfortable seats,” Harrison said.
The firm will spend at least P30 billion three years from now, the official said, to build the new terminal. It involves the P14.4-billion premium that it offered to win the key infrastructure contract.
“Our aim is to make Cebu an international hub, for in doing so, we not only further promote the island, boost local business and draw in investors, but we also give an invaluable support to the country. And not only that—we make an even more significant mark on the Asian map,” GMR-Megawide President Louie Ferrer said.
The concessionaire should begin constructing the new passenger-terminal building by January 2015, which it should complete in three years, or by January 2018. This new terminal will be dedicated to international flights and will rise next to the existing passenger terminal building (PTB), to which it will be connected.
The existing PTB will then be renovated for completion in January 2019, when it will begin to serve the airport’s domestic clientele exclusively.
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