After outages, NAIA’s ‘major projects’ to be completed in 24 to 36 months
MANILA, Philippines – After dealing with three major power outages in just six months, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced that it was fast-tracking “significant rehabilitation, upgrades, and improvements” to the country’s main gateway.
MIAA set a timeline of 24 to 36 months to complete upgrades to the facilities and passenger processing systems of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). These projects include:
- Replacing the passenger boarding bridges
- Replacing chillers
- Upgrading taxiways
- Expanding the coverage of its CCTV system
- Digitizing airport operations and passenger systems
The agency also announced the “immediate construction” of six immigration counters in NAIA Terminal 3, increasing the total counters to 36.
A separate immigration annex in NAIA Terminal 3, set to open in December, is also being constructed to serve overseas Filipino workers, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, and diplomats. It will have six four-man counters with 24 immigration officers.
Electrical audit underway
Following another power outage that hit NAIA Terminal 3 last June 9, MIAA gave assurances that it would complete the electrical audit of the terminal with the aid of Meralco and MServ, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco.
Filipino tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Meralco, earlier offered to conduct the electrical audit for free as a way to help the government map out projects to modernize and upgrade the terminal.
But although the electrical audit was pitched as a solution after the Labor Day fiasco, it also ended up being the cause of the next outage on June 9.
In an incident report, MServ clarified that its personnel “accidentally left grounding conductors attached to an electrical equipment during a testing activity,” which caused an electrical fault that eventually led to the 37-minute power interruption.
Besides the outages on May 1 and June 9, the entire Philippine airspace was also shut down on New Year’s Day after several components of the air traffic management system broke down. (READ: What caused the January 1 air traffic mess and what should be done about it?)
“Times are very challenging for us now; but be that as it may, we are taking steps and exploring all ways possible to achieve our deliverables based on our established priorities,” MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said in a statement on Wednesday, June 14. – Rappler.com