The number of travelers passing through the Manila International Airport (MIA) has grown from 32 million to 50 million annually, according to Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.
“It is possible that the MIA becomes clogged. Mahaba ang pila, kung minsan walang maupuan, [MIA is really congested. The lines are long, and the seats are insufficient]”, he said in a television interview with the state-owned PTV4.
Airport users have taken to social media in recent months to share their dismay over broken escalators and escalators at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Jusko NAIA, from November 2023 to January 2024, sira na toh.
Umuwi was born in february 2024, sira pa din. @MIAAGovPH #BagongPilipinas #LoveThePhilippines pic.twitter.com/PhGnjqWLKx
— NJMLDT (@njmldt) February 18, 2024
Not to hate pero nakaka dismaya talaga sa Naia T3. Nakaka tatlong labas nako ng bansa this year pero hanggang ngayon, Sira parin lahat ng escalator sa arrival. To upgrade, you can upgrade. I was stuck in the facilities of the 1990s.
pic.twitter.com/tyq3CgIWuw
— Zarckaroo Azur (@zarckaroo) May 16, 2024
“As early as now to moan n/a mag-order ng mga parts from winning bidder, [As early as now, the winning bidder has already started ordering parts for the renovation,”] Mr. Bautista said about the improvement and repair of elevators, escalators and escalators.
He added that these should be completed by Christmas due to the expected number of passengers in Terminal 3.
The SMC SAP & Co. Consortium, consisting of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics, Inc., RLW Aviation Development, Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., was awarded the P170.6 billion contract to rehabilitate NAIA.
“A reform and improvement will take place early next year [we should already see reform and improvement],” said Mr. Bautista.
Improve ports
In addition to the airport rehabilitation, Mr Bautista also discussed improvement plans for the maritime industry.
“Maraming improvements na gawa sa ating mga ports [A lot of improvements have been done for our ports]. There are about 700 ports across the country,” he said.
“This could be to carry out efficient operations and actually work safely. Safety, efficiency and comfort [We need to fix it to create more efficient, safe, and comfortable ship operations].”
Mr Bautista said green operations are also necessary to reduce CO2 emissions, not only from ships but also in other transport sectors. – Almira Louise S. Martinez