The Philippines Department of Transportation has inaugurated the upgraded airside facilities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The upgraded facilities will enable the airport to handle more commercial aircraft movements.
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Repairs and cement overlay works on Runway 13/31, which is the shorter of the two runways, has been completed, reported Manilastandard.net.
The construction of an additional holding area (H5) at Runway 13 was also completed. The longer runway 06/24 handles large aircraft.
According to the DoT, the upgrade of the runway will increase the maximum allowable commercial flight movement capacity from 40 to 50 flights an hour.
The upgrade project was finished by the government and not through unsolicited proposal from the private sector.
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By GlobalDataManila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The aviation industry was not spared from the pandemic’s dire effects. However, it also opened an opportunity for us in the MIAA, to redirect our efforts to prepare for the post-Covid travel scenario. Even as there are talks of proposals from the private sector, the MIAA continued the rehabilitation of NAIA facilities.”
With the completion of more airside-related projects planned for 2021-22, the airport will be able to handle 60 commercial flights per hour, Monreal added.
The concrete overlay to improve Runway 13 is expected to last up to 20 years and to be less prone to problems such as potholes, soft spots and rutting.
