DOTC sets P32.6M for better NAIA restrooms

MANILA, Philippines — Better restroom facilities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals 2, 3 and 4 await passengers and guests as the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) earmarks P32.6 million for the project.

In a statement issued Friday, DOTC said the fund would be used for the rehabilitation of 121 restroom facilities as part of efforts to modernize the airport terminals. The project is expected to be completed by December of this year.

The rehabilitated restrooms will be installed with major fixtures such as water closets, sensor-type urinals, lavatories, tiles, ceilings and waterproofing works, DOTC said.

The Manila International Airport Authority said in a report that 16 restrooms with 26 toilet facilities located at Terminal 2's passenger movement area are now undergoing repairs.

The DOTC said that 26 of 85 toilets at Terminal 3 are being improved, while 10 toilets at Terminal 4 will soon be upgraded.

The rehabilitation of 54 toilets at Terminal 1, meanwhile, have been comp improved in 2010.

The DOTC also noted that the airconditioning upgrades are ongoing at Terminal 1 and 2 despite various delays in the past years.

"All of the old 36 air handling units in Terminal 1 will be replaced with newly procured units, 17 of which have been received by the airport authority for full installation by November this year. The remaining 19 AHUs will be functional by March 2015," the agency said.

A total of 21 new air-conditioning units at Terminal 2 are also undergoing improvements and are expected to be completed by Septemeber.

The NAIA Terminal 1 Rehabilitation Project, which involves structural retrofitting and other engineering works, is also ongoing and scheduled to normalize operations by the end of February 2015.

Meanwhile, the NAIA Terminal 3 systems completion effort has already allowed full airport operations at the facility beginning this month.

Five major international airlines are already transferring to Terminal 3, seen to decongest Terminal 1 by 3.5 million annual passengers once the ongoing transfers are completed by the middle of next month.