Full
operations will begin starting July 31 at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA T3), this was confirmed by The Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC)
on Friday.
As of July
18, about 85 percent of works had been completed while there are definite
systems non-critical to full airline including the building maintenance system.
DOTC hopes that the works will be completed within this year.
Abaya said
that the entry airport will soon be receiving 3.5 million more passengers with up-to-date
facilities yearly and will also help decongest NAIA Terminal 1.
Once the
NAIA T3 will be in its full operations, five major airlines from NAIA T1 will
also be moved to lessen its annual passenger form its current eight million down to its almost half
of its number of visitors (4.5 million).
The Manila
International Airport Authority (MIAA) noted that Delta Airlines will have its
first flight out of NAIA T3 on August 1, while KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will transfer
on or
before the week of August.
Abaya
stressed the five carriers including
Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and two others will have the
highest volume of international flights coming in and out of NAIA, so they will
be provided a new home.
The NAIA T3 is
supposed completed last 2002 but it was delayed due to some legal issues related
to bidding late opening until 2008. The Transport Secretary Manuel Roxas II began
its meetings with NAIA T3’s contractor, Takenaka Corporation of Japan to complete its
facilities that are without its relation of the continuing cases.
Takenaka’s
USD 40 million-contract began in August last year, having assumed completion
works for systems such as, flight information displays, gate coordination,
landing bridges, computer terminals, and fire protection systems throughout the
year.
