Philippine engineering and infrastructure conglomerate Megawide recently announced that construction of the Clark International Airport’s new passenger terminal building (PTB) remains on schedule despite the Luzon‐wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). The project is being undertaken by Megawide GMR Construction Joint Venture Inc (MGCJV).
“Construction of the new terminal, access roads, bus station, and car parks is 96% complete with only minor works remaining. Despite any challenges we are facing, we were actually ahead of schedule before the ECQ was implemented in Luzon,” said Edgar Saavedra, chairman and CEO of Megawide.
According to Mr Saavedra, the new terminal building shell has been substantially completed, and installation of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire‐protection (MEPF) works as well as construction of the landside works are already in the final stages.
MGCJV won the construction package for the Clark International Airport expansion project in December 2017 under a hybrid public‐private partnership (PPP) scheme. The new terminal building is expected to be completed by this year.
“The ECQ has minimal impact on our construction timelines for Clark International Airport primarily because engineering and construction are Megawide’s core strengths, and the fact that we leveraged on what we learned from the Mactan‐Cebu International Airport (MCIA) expansion,” said Mr Saavedra.
The partnership of Megawide and Indian airport developer GMR is also behind the development of MCIA and the contractor of the multi‐awarded MCIA Terminal 2. “We learned a lot during the construction of MCIA Terminal 2. We applied all these learnings in the Clark project, including engineering techniques such as the use of glued‐laminated timber for a full roof structure, and many others,” said Mr Saavedra.
“That we were ahead of schedule in the construction of the new Clark PTB is a testament to the all the hard work and dedication of the people on the ground, such as our engineering and construction teams; our architect, Integrated Design Associates, who also designed MCIA Terminal 2; and the support of our stakeholders, especially the BCDA and DOTR,” added Mr Saavedra.
The Clark International Airport’s new terminal is designed to increase the capacity of the airport from four million passengers per annum (mppa) to 12 mppa. It is envisioned to be Asia’s next premier gateway and is seen to help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila.
To see the Megawide GMR video on the progress of the project, click here.
Update (22 April): Megawide has just confirmed that the construction project is expected to be handed over to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) before the 31 July 2020 completion date.
