DOTC affirms P1.1-B ‘facelift’ for NAIA Terminal 1 taking off

Secretary of Transportation and Communications Mar Roxas on Tuesday said President Benigno Aquino III has given the P1.1 billion NAIA Terminal 1 rehabilitation plan the green light covering structural and aesthetical improvements in the country’s current gateway. “The plan is the result of DOTC’s comprehensive findings of the current condition of NAIA T1 facilities," Roxas said in a Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) press release on Tuesday. “We assure the public that we are doing all we can to provide them safe, affordable, reliable, and comfortable travel facilities." The DOTC-Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)’s plan has an allocated budget, of which approximately P500 million was provisionally set aside for aesthetics and interior design of the facility.
The plan entails replacing the well-worn linoleum floorings, the ceilings, and walls and partitions. Part of that portion of the budget is to replace the old Immigration counters and add 50 percent more such counters to existing ones. Concessionaires will be relocated in order to make more room for passengers. “Our basic guiding principle in this effort will be function and utility — meaning ease of use for the passengers." Roxas said. Another P300 million of the total budget is for the construction of rapid exit taxiway to relieve runway congestion and minimize delays or waiting time for flights. — MRT, GMA News