me countdown billboard pa sila...

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Gov’t sets March 31 opening for NAIA-3

First posted 02:52pm (Mla time) Jan 14, 2006
By Nikko Dizon
Inquirer



THE Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is determined to make the mothballed Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 “fully operational” by March 31 -- and has begun a countdown to the big day.
The countdown counter is the first thing that people would see when they step inside the main elevator of the MIAA administration building.

As of yesterday, there were only “77 days left to complete works at NAIA-3.” Emblazoned across the counter was the slogan “We make things happen.”

The countdown is a way to rally the MIAA staff and employees behind the goal of opening NAIA-3, said Robert Uy, an assistant to MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi.

Cusi had earlier informed the Airline Operators Council of the March 31 target, but officials of the airline association indicated they had a few misgivings.

“We’ll support the MIAA; that’s a definite commitment,” said Ed Monreal, former AOC chair. “However, everything must be put in order first... For us, the airlines’

interest, such as our investments, should not be jeopardized.”

Airline officials are particularly wary of unresolved legal issues between the government and the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCo), the original operator of the NAIA-3. The pending issues are the subject of international arbitration.

“Nobody wants to transfer because of the legal aspect,” Monreal said.

Moreover, he noted, and airline representatives have yet to discuss the carriers’ standard operational requirements, such as office space, ramp condition, communication systems, signage, cargo handling facilities, and the access road that would connect Terminals 2 and 3.

The AOC has maintained that the airlines need a lead time of six months to smoothly effect their transfer from Terminal 1 to NAIA-3.

The MIAA has advanced 10 million dollars to the Japanese construction firm Takenaka Corp. for completion work on various terminal installations such as conveyors.