By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) promised the airline industry that the Sangley Airport in Cavite would be up and running by November 2017.
During a panel discussion on Transport Network for Tourism at the Tourism Summit of the Department of Tourism (DOT) last week, Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Roberto C.O. Lim said the agency will soon be “bidding out the civil works for Sangley, prevent its flooding, and improve the runway to ensure small jets and turbo aircraft” will be able to use the airport.
“We hope to use Sangley by November 2017, so we can decongest Manila [Ninoy Aquino International Airport],” he told participants of the summit.
Lim said this is in response to the continuing complaints of the airline industry, whose representatives were also at the panel discussion, that a new airport was needed soon. The DoTr is also studying proposals for a new airport in Bulacan from San Miguel Corp. and on reclaimed land at Sangley Point, a former US naval base, from the Solar-SM Group.
The DOTr under the Aquino administration said it would move out general aviation, including air charter services to Sangley, to decongest the Naia, which has already exceeded its capacity. But by the end of its term, it had yet to bid out any project to improve the Cavite facility.
“The real solution is to come up with a new airport. It will be a game changer for Metro Manila. We will come up with a decision by the middle of next year,” Lim said.
There have also been proposals to construct a second and third runway at the Naia. But Engr. Raul Glorioso, acting chief of the Aerodome Development and Management Service of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, shot down this possibility, saying these pose technical difficulties and would not only create too much traffic with the impending construction of the C-5, citing the assessment of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Carol Ong, general manager of Singapore Airlines, supported the idea of a new airport, but stressed that it should be in a “geographic area that is well situated,” meaning it should still be in Manila.
Jaime J. Bautista, president of the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines and president of pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), said the new airport should “not be far from Naia.”
Bautista said Metro Manila can duplicate the solution in Japan, where Tokyo is serviced by both Haneda and Narita airports. “We can continue to operate Naia, which will add more tourists, until we’re able to develop a new airport. We really need a world-class airport.”
Panel moderator Vinoop Goel of the International Airport Transport Association did not think the Clark airport would make a viable alternative to the Naia due to the number of passengers coming from Metro Manila.
“It’s quite a journey from Makati to Clark,” Goel stressed. He estimated about 8 million passengers just going to the Clark airport from Makati, “that’s 4 million cars that will cause additional traffic congestion [on the highways]. I don’t see how Makati residents will go to Clark.”
Lim, meanwhile, encouraged the foreign carriers to “not only fly to Manila, but also to all other [provincial] destinations. We have 7,100 islands [which can accommodate] a variety of aircraft, and a legal framework exists,” pointing to the existing “pocket open skies” policy of the government and the country’s signing of the Asean “open skies” agreement.
In a separate speech at the summit on the Unified Tourism Agenda, Sen. Nancy S. Binay, chair man of the Senate’s Tourism Committee, batted for the establishment of more bed and breakfasts, and other “speciality inns” in the country. “This concept has been proven in places like Sagada and Batanes. To spread the idea, we need to train the community to be entrepreneurs and professional innkeepers. This way, we can encourage the deeper interaction of tourists with the community, as well as maintain the charm and way of life of the area.”
She also appealed to the DOT to help local governments draw up their respective tourism-development plans and incorporate these in the comprehensive land-use plan to identify and protect tourism sites.
“Towns and provinces should not look only for their own interests in the tourism pie, but should look at how they can interconnect and relate to each other in terms of tourism development and promotion. Maybe we can see a regional tourism promotion in the coming days,” the senator added.
She, likewise, addressed the need for provincial tourism officers to be included as regular staff in local government units, as they are “vital point persons in the planning and execution of tourism plans.”
3 comments
Why can’t we rebuild NAIA with 2 or more runways and a new terminal in the center. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f0e628e81eeae718ded1abf83415d0539e43eff1f9552d44cd117f0e1210c939.jpg
Besides the disruption to air travel that would create with no running alternative for Manila flights (which services a bulk of the country’s inbounds as well) that proposed parallel runway doesn’t actually solve anything. Runways have to be 1km apart by international standards to be able to handle simultaneous movements. A parallel runway where shown on your map has nearly the same problems as the existing runways in terms of reducing congestion (except that taxiing gets a little easier). A parallel runway 1 km distant from either runway runs through a lot of private property in dense areas.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e280b7155aebac86e1e11786bcc475eac95719dad17e88e4ca5c9343db4046e2.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5acf8c183553d879016179112089c6ea80276b66b7f06769760e5e41065f801a.jpg
Google: GUIUAN AIRPORT, Eastern Samar