THE government-run Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) plans to start several projects in 2024.
Guesting in SMNI’s weekly public affairs program “Business and Politics” hosted by The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante “Klink” Ang 2nd, CIAC’s new president and CEO Arrey Perez said it will bid out seven infrastructure projects aimed at helping improve the airport’s services and tourism thrust.
“We will be happy if construction for these projects will start in 2024 next year. What we can assure you is that the initial stages of the privatization or getting partners to bid on these flagship projects will happen next year,” Perez said.
Three of the projects are private-public partnerships (PPPs), and four are infrastructure ventures.
The PPP projects are the National Food Terminal, the water innovation or urban renewal program, and the Clark Entertainment and Event Hubs, Perez said.
The infrastructure projects are the New Clark Airport direct access link road, the expansion and upgrade of road networks and utilities, the development of Clark’s second runway, and the new CIAC headquarters.
Perez also said the CIAC plans to sign an agreement in May next year with Aéro Montréal, a think tank consisting of all the major decision makers in Quebec’s aerospace sector.
“On our trip to Canada, we saw an opportunity to present to Aéro Montréal, and they said they were impressed with our transparency. They are quite interested in signing a deal with us and explore opportunities for the different corporations under their sector,” Perez said.
One of the agreements is to bring in Philippine workers to help Aéro Montréal in its expansion plan. In return, the group will move some of its production and manufacturing ventures to Clark.
Perez said the memorandum of agreement with Aero Montreal is expected to be signed in May.
The CIAC head also said that the Luzon International Premiere Airport Development (Lipad), the consortium managing Clark airport, expects to hit its annual target of 2 million passengers this year.
Cargo and Maintenance, Repair, and Operations firms were also considering moving from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Clark because of its excellent management record, he added.
“An example is FedEx and I think there have been talks on expanding their operations here,” Perez said.
Formerly known as the North Luzon Airport Consortium, Lipad is made up of the Changi Airports Philippines, Filinvest Development, JG Summit, and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions.
By Ed Paolo Salting
December 11, 2023
