Daven Tamayo

NAIA Terminal 5 to be completed in 30 months: Ramon Ang

Passengers flock to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City on March 27, 2024. An influx of passengers is anticipated as many head to the provinces for the Holy Week weekend. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Holy Week Travel

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 5 can be finished in 30 months, tycoon Ramon Ang, the chairman of the consortium handling the gateway’s operation and development, said on Tuesday.The NAIA Terminal 5 is expected to host domestic and ease congestion in the NAIA Terminal 2.“Sabihin mong let’s start construction by January 2026, matatapos yan ng after 30 months or 2 and half years. Ang bilis ano?” Ang told reporters in a chance interview.“‘Yung terminal 5 kapag nagsimula yung pagtayo pag natanggal na yung Philippine Village [Hotel],” said the New NAIA Infra Corp (NNIC) chief.In April, the NNIC said that they expect the demolition of the Philippine Village — an abandoned hotel in the Nayong Pilipino Complex next to NAIA — to be completed in 5 months or by September.“‘Yung domestic terminal 2 and 5 can handle up to 35 million passengers per year,” Ang said.Terminal 1 will be used for low-cost international carriers, while Terminal 3 is intended for full service airlines, he said.Decongesting the Philippines’ main gateway has been part of the San Miguel-led private concessionaire’s goal since it took over the airport’s operations and management under a P122.3-billion agreement with the government.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lauded the NNIC’s efforts in improving the country’s busiest airport after a brief inspection in NAIA Terminal 3.“This is the biggest PPP that the country has ever done, and by the way, it was the fastest that we were able to do because I pushed it very, very hard,” Marcos Jr. said.“If you look at the financials of this projects, hindi kikita ang NNIC for a long time,” he said.“I’ve been through this airport, I don’t know how many times, and this is the nicest that I’ve seen and we will keep on going in that path,” he said.The Philippines is in the process of looking for more advanced technologies to improve NAIA’s efficiency and services, the President said.“We are trying to canvass the best technology that we can find para pagaangin ang buhay nila,” he said.“We will see even more construction by the end of the year,” he said.Among the new developments by the end of 2025 is the roll out of face recognition-capable electronic gates to address long queues in the airport’s immigration areas, Ang said.The Department of Transportation said that it is still in the process of finalizing the plan before procuring these more modern e-gates.

The NAIA Terminal 5 is expected to host domestic and ease congestion in the NAIA Terminal 2.

The NAIA Terminal 5 is expected to host domestic and ease congestion in the NAIA Terminal 2.