The number of travelers who go through the Manila International Airport (MIA) have grown from 32 million to 50 million per year, according to Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.
“Pag pupunta ka rito sa MIA ay makikita mo na napakacongested. Mahaba ang pila, kung minsan walang maupuan, [MIA is really congested. The lines are long, and the seats are insufficient],” he said in a televised interview with government-owned PTV4.
Airport users in recent months took to social media to share their dismay about broken travelators and escalators at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
“As early as now nagstart na mag-order ng mga parts ang winning bidder, [As early as now, the winning bidder has already started ordering parts for the renovation,”] Mr. Bautista said on the improvement and repair of elevators, escalators, and travelators.
He added that these must be accomplished by Christmas because of the expected volume of passengers in Terminal 3.
The SMC-SAP & Co. Consortium, consisting of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics, Inc., RLW Aviation Development, Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., was awarded the P170.6-billion contract to rehabilitate NAIA.
“By early next year, dapat makakita na tayo ng reform, ng improvement [we should already see reform and improvement],” Mr. Bautista said.
Improving Ports
Apart from airport rehabilitation, Mr. Bautista also discussed improvement plans for the maritime industry.
“Maraming improvements na nagawa sa ating mga ports [A lot of improvements have been done for our ports]. There are like 700 ports all over the country,” he said.
“Dapat ayusin para maging efficient ang operations ng mga barko at maging safe actually. Safety, efficiency, and comfort [We need to fix it to create more efficient, safe, and comfortable ship operations].”
Mr. Bautista said that green operations are also needed to lessen carbon emissions, not just in ships but also in other transport sectors. – Almira Louise S. Martinez
