EDITORIAL –  Waiting for an airport terminal

At a recent meeting between government officials and European investors, one of the items on the foreigners’ long wish list was the opening of the third terminal of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The investors pointed out that even with the legal dispute over the NAIA Terminal 3 still under international arbitration, the government could start operating the terminal.

Possibly in response to the wish list, the Department of Transportation and Communications recently announced that it planned to open NAIA-3 within the year. Someone should put this down in writing and have it notarized, and make sure the document does not vanish into thin air like the paper that DOTC chief Leandro Mendoza signed with ZTE Corp. officials two years ago in Boao, China.

Since a new target date has been set, the government should make sure glitches will be kept to a minimum when NAIA-3 is finally opened. The terminal has become a symbol of everything that is wrong in the country’s investment climate: major infrastructure projects scuttled due to corruption scandals, business contracts that are overturned when there is a new occupant at Malacañang, a weak judicial system and poor regulatory environment.

Knowing the importance of making a good first impression, countries in Southeast Asia have been competing to build and operate the best airport in the region. This means not just a spacious airport but also one that runs smoothly, with enough toilets with toilet paper, and with generators powerful enough to keep the lights on and electric fans if not the air conditioning system running during blackouts. It means making sure ceilings do not leak during heavy rains.

Singapore continues to lead in the region with its Changi airport, but Malaysia and Thailand have opened their own modern, sprawling facilities. Meanwhile, here we are, unable to open a single terminal that can ease congestion at the old international airport. NAIA-3 is falling apart from disuse, but it will only get worse the longer the government puts off its operation. Now a new date has been set for its opening. The government must make sure the target is finally met.