Construction of airport terminal starts

CEBU, Philippines - The GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) is set to hold the ceremonial concrete pouring today, signaling the start of the construction of Cebu’s newest airport passenger terminal building.

The activity will be held at the Terminal 2 grounds located at Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase at 8:30 a.m. today.

Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose Emilio Abaya and Undersecretary Edwin Lopez will lead the event.

“The first batch of concrete mix will be poured into the structure six months after work started on the second terminal,” said GMCAC president Louie Ferrer in a statement.

The structure will have a total floor area of 65,865 square meters with three floors – ground floor for arrivals, mezzanine level, and third floor for departures.

There will be a two-level forecourt segregating Arrival and Departure passengers that is fully integrated with landside development.

The architectural features of the new airport terminal would be a blend of modern building materials and Cebuano culture and heritage.

In June 2015, the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Passenger Terminal was graced by President Benigno Aquino III.

GMCAC, the Filipino company that manages the terminal operations of MCIA under a Public-Private Partnership for a 25-year concession agreement, is investing some P32 billion for phase 1 development of Terminal 2 that is set to redefine Cebu’s travel landscape.

The new terminal, slated for completion by the third quarter of 2018, will increase the total capacity of MCIA from 4.5 million passengers to 12.5 million passengers.

It will have 48 check-in counters that are expandable to 72. It also has provisions for seven passenger boarding bridges, which can be expanded to 12 boarding bridges serving wide and narrow body aircrafts.

The terminal will be equipped with 12 escalators and 15 elevators facilitating the easy movement of passengers, especially for persons with disabilities.

A huge car park is available to accommodate 550 cars and is expandable to cater to 750 cars.

There will also be an array of food and beverage and retail choices for passengers.

Future developments following Terminal 2’s opening in 2018 will include a mall and a hotel.

“The MCIA is envisioned to become the world’s friendliest airport gateway that demonstrates the warmth and hospitality of the Cebuano people. It will be an airport that will make guests feel that their resort experience has started the moment they set foot in here,” said Ferrer.  (FREEMAN)