Arroyo allots P100-M for Clark airport

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — President Arroyo pledged the other day to funnel some P100 million to develop the Clark economic zone airport to ease congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

South Korean carrier Aseana Airlines is to start its Clark service on Sept. 28, while the government will also arrange for commercial jets ferrying home overseas workers from the Middle East to land at Clark rather than the Manila airport, she said during a visit here.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Clark Development Corp., which is managing the sprawling former US air base, has signed an agreement with the Manila International Airport Authority to develop and operate the Clark airport.

The airport is located about 80 kilometers north of Manila and features two 3.2-kilometer runways, but Mrs. Arroyo acknowledged that air traffic was thin because the passenger terminal was not yet up to international standards.

She said part of the income of the NAIA, would be allotted to the development of the Clark airport, which the government has named after former President Diosdado Macapagal, Mrs. Arroyo’s late father.

"They will spend for infrastructure development like apron construction. They will spend for the widening of the taxiway, the procurement of ramps, (and) the procurement of additional X-ray machines to handle bigger luggage," she said in a speech during the ceremony marking the centennial of Clark Field as an old military reservation for US cavalrymen.

"Because what airline will come here if their passengers will wait for a manual inspection of their luggage? We have to make this terminal world-class in services as well," she added.

The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) was revived to manage and operate the DMIA. It is 80-percent owned by the CDC and 20 percent by the MIAA.

Air Transportation Office chief Edilberto Yap said the CIAC will be chaired by Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, with CDC president and chief operating officer Emmanuel Angeles as vice chairman.

The US government turned over control of Clark in 1992 after the Philippine Senate refused to renew a military bases treaty.

Also last Monday, Mrs. Arroyo inaugurated a toll road that cuts travel time between Manila and Clark by 30 minutes. — Ding Cervantes and AFP