“There must be a lot of money to be made in running an airport but, in this case, there is a danger that we might be overdoing it”
When it rains, it pours, as the old saying goes.
And when it comes to international airports, the country will soon be having four that will be located not very far from each other if everything goes according to plan.
Two as we know are already in operation.
The NAIA in Pasay City and the Clark Airport in Pampanga.
One is under development by the San Miguel Corporation in Bulacan which will become the biggest and the last is the planned International Airport in Sangley Point, Cavite.
One might be tempted to ask why we need so many international airports located near each other.
After all, when the Bulacan airport will be completed, it will have four runways and will be able to cater to over 100 million passengers a year when completed.
Yet, conglomerates are lining up to invest hundreds of billions of pesos to upgrade the NAIA at no cost to the government like the Bulacan airport development.
There must be a lot of money to be made in running an airport but, in this case, there is a danger that we might be overdoing it.
The upgrading of NAIA is a good case study.
There have been suggestions the vast area be converted into another business district.
One reason for this is its distance to all the current business centers and the blighted condition of the areas leading to the three airport terminals.
The DOTr, however, does not seem to agree with this thinking and is going along with the project.
The scope of work has not yet been made public and whether the P178 billion mentioned as the project cost will just be for the upgrading of the three airport terminals or includes the development of the access roads including the clearing of unnecessary and blighted structures.
This is important because it will demonstrate how the DOTr pictures the way an international airport should be.
Since an international airport is the gateway to the country, it should not only be the terminals that should be attractive but also the access roads and the entire surrounding areas that make up the whole airport complex that must be presentable.
As one airline travel ad is saying, it is not only about the plane but also how to get to your destination that matters.
For example, going to the NAIA passing thru Tramo Road to take a flight is going thru like an obstacle course.
It is shameful the government never took an effort to develop, remove and improve all those vulcanizing shops and sari-sari stores to make that stretch of road presentable.
Simply burying all those spaghetti electric wires would be a good start.
Otherwise, “loving the Philippines” is going to be a hard sell.
What happened to first impressions being important?
We seem to be one of the few countries that do not seem to mind presenting our worst.
Judging by the amount of the upgrading project, it would look like the scope of work will simply be for the terminals and maybe the immediate vicinity of the terminals.
If this is the case, modernizing the NAIA terminal buildings will not be sufficient to change for the better the negative reputation of NAIA.
I remember an American airport consultant who was invited about 40 years ago to see how best to modernize the then Manila International Airport.
After the look over, he came out with a minimum investment figure of about US$3 or 4 billion to upgrade the terminal building, runway, access roads and clearing of informal settlers together with landscaping.
That was when there was only one terminal and much fewer people and traffic in that area.
The amount suggested apparently shocked the government and the planned upgrading was immediately shelved.
But that was when money was hard to come by.
Now, it is altogether a different story.
That kind of money nowadays is just peanuts because there are a lot of money circulating with moneyed companies looking where to invest their cash.
But there has to be a master plan because four airports within spitting distance from each other may be impractical and excessive.
Some major Metropolitan areas around the world do have more than one airport.
New York has the JFK and La Guardia Airports.
In Paris, there is the Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airports.
For us, we do not seem to be satisfied with two and want to match London’s example with six airports. It should be pointed out, however, that there have been many complaints and discussions about the practicality of having so many airports in the greater London Metropolitan Area due to pollution, noise and safety concerns.
For us, perhaps there is more to the airports than meets the eye.
The Bulacan airport as we know also wants to be a Free Trade Zone in addition to being an airport. Maybe the consortium vying to upgrade the NAIA eventually wants the same together with the planned Cavite airport.
That would make sense because, with so many airports, the NAIA investors in all probability will not be able to recoup their investments with passenger revenue alone.
There has to be other sources of revenue to make the investment all worth it.
This might involve having to develop the vacant areas into other revenue generating centers.
If this happens, one drawback with this is the “new airport” will attract a lot more traffic but it is perhaps a price worth paying if the upgraded gateway will turn out to be an airport complex that will make us all proud.