Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Manila, Philippines

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) is situated in the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ – a free port) of the Philippines near Angeles City on Luzon Island.

The airport was developed from the old US Clark Airbase (33,653ha) which was closed in 1991 when the US left following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which led to the area of the base being strewn with debris and lava. The old airbase was cleaned up in the following two years and in 1993 the CSEZ was opened in its place on the site with DMIA airport at the centre.

The old air force base has formed an exceptional basis for an international airport with two identical concrete parallel runways (02R/20L and 02L/20R) both 10,500ft, 3,200m long and able to accept the majority of commercial aircraft.

The A380 landed here on a test flight in October 2007 and the airport during its previous use as an airbase was designated as a land strip for the space shuttle.

The airport is 85km northwest of the capital Manila and as such is still within the required catchment to be a useful business flyers airport (the road infrastructure around the airport is being improved and this project should be completed in 2008).

DMIA has been put forward as a possible alternative to take over from Ninoy Aquino International Airport but whether it will remains to be seen (this has been predicted over the next ten years since Ninoy Aquino has limited space for expansion). The airport is administered and operated by Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC).

DMIA IMPROVEMENTS

The terminal building at DMIA can currently handle around 500,000 passengers a year. In 2003 the CIAC board gave their approval to a master plan (put together by the Korean International Cooperation Agency and costing $2m) to develop the airport to its full potential over the period to 2025.

The initial plan is to expand the current terminal building (first phase expansion) so that it can accept around two million passengers a year (project costing P130m). This project has been underway since 2006 and is due to be completed at the end of January 2008. The second phase of the project will be the construction of the new Premier Gateway Terminal (starting construction in April 2008) which will allow the airport to handle five million passengers in total.

On completion of this in 2009 the old terminal will revert to being a low-cost terminal. At this point both of the runways are to be extended to 4,000m (the airport hopes to become a hub for A380 travel). The development of the airport will cost a total of P56.5bn ($1.7bn).

RADAR DEVELOPMENTS

The terminal radar approach control (TRACON) project was first started at DMIA in September 2005 and due to cost cutting and budget over-runs was not completed. This was needed to bring the airport into compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

Finally in April 2007 the project was completed. The TRACON facility cost $9.3m (a 15-year loan from Deutsche Bank) and moves DMIA into the position of having the most modern system in the country.

The radar system, which can operate in all weathers, can detect incoming and outgoing aircraft in a radius of 60nm to 220nm of the airport.

This means that the airport is no longer reliant on the radar system of its rival Ninoy Aquino International.

The system was installed by SELEX of Italy who also had to upgrade parts of the CIAC buildings in order to install the new console display. DMIA also has all other necessary systems including: instrument landing system, Doppler VHF omni-directional range, primary and secondary surveillance radar, non-directional beacon, airfield ground lighting system, and Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI).

GATE GOURMET FACILITIES

Gate Gourmet and Miascor have invested $3m at DMIA to construct an in-flight catering service facility. The new facility will be able to prepare over 4,000 meals a day for the airlines operating from the airport. This development shows promise in that it anticipates an increase in long haul flights from the airport over the next few years.

The new facility was started in March 2007 and is being constructed on a 3,000m² site adjacent to the CIAC headquarters. The construction work is being undertaken by Philippine Sundt Construction and is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2008.

OTHER DMIA PROJECTS

Philippine Airlines is negotiating a deal with CAIC to invest $50m in the construction of maintenance, catering and ground handling facilities at DMIA. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of the first quarter of 2008 and the facilities would be constructed concurrently with the airport second phase.

Philippine Airlines would like to use the airport as a hub to fly to Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Bangkok and also Taipei. The Philippine government has also improved the viability of the airport by relaxing rules on foreign budget carriers using the airport as a stopover point to other Asian countries.

DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL MASTER PLAN

The 2025 master plan puts forward far-reaching plans for the construction of a Y-shaped passenger terminal with 56 jetways (19 for the A380).

In addition there will be an X-shaped satellite concourse with 28 jetways (12 for the A380) and also a midfield air traffic control tower. A third parallel runway is planned along with new taxiways and aprons and a new cargo terminal complex.

The airport infrastructure being increased to this level will allow an estimated 40 million passengers a year to use the airport. The master plan also puts forward plans for an automatic people mover, a ground transportation centre, a new rail system for the airport and commuters to Manila and additional road infrastructure leading to the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway. These impressive plans will potentially lead to the airport becoming a major hub in Asia.