Ramon Ang commits better NAIA experience by December

San Miguel Corp. president and chief executive officer Ramon Ang on Monday committed to a better passenger experience at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) come December, or three months after a consortium he leads takes over the country’s main gateway.

NAIA Infra Corp. — made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp. — said it will first focus on repairs when it takes over NAIA on September 14.

“Do not naman expect when we take over, in one day everything will improve like magic. Hindi naman ganon ‘yun (It is not like that). But you will see a lot of improvement by December,” he told reporters in a roundtable in Pasig City on Monday.

“Di ba three months after, makikita mo maraming improvement — less traffic, less ganito, ganon lang ‘yun, and then after one year sigurado mo na na wala nang power fluctuation, wala nang nagloloko na aircon,” he added.

(Three months after, you will see a lot of improvements — less traffic, less of this, it’s like that, and then after one year, we will be sure that there will no longer ba power fluctuations, no faulty airconditioners.)

NAIA Infra Corp., previously called SMC SAP & Co. Consortium, in March inked a P170.6-billion concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to take over NAIA after it offered the highest share of its future revenues from operating the gateway to the government.

The group has committed at least P122.3 billion in capital investments for the entire 25-year concession period, equivalent to P4.89 billion per year. It would need to make an upfront payment of P30 billion to the government, and another P2 billion in annual payments for the duration of the contract.

“It takes time eh, diba (right), when we take over. Hindi naman natin pwedeng pakialaman ngayon habang wala pa tayo sa loob (We cannot get involved while we are not yet on the inside),” Ang said.

Once the group takes over, Ang said it will repair all those that need sprucing up such as toilets, air conditioning units, escalators, elevators, and walkalators, among others.

Off-ramp NAIAx and Terminal 3 connection

It is also in the process of conducting a study to decongest the area, and is set to spend some P3 billion to P5 billion to construct a new off-ramp connection between the NAIA Expressway to NAIA Terminal 3.

“Hindi eksakto ang mga length, kasi ano ‘yan, may option na mag-a-underground pa, basta ang budget dun, P3 billion to P5 billion, and we will see if after building Phase 1 okay na or kailangan pa idugtong or kung kailangan pa maghukay ng underground,” Ang said.

“Kasi kung umubra na na hindi na kailangan maghukay ng underground at hindi na kailangan idugtong, it will be much cheaper,” he added.

(The length is not exact because there is an option to go underground. The budget is P3 billion to P5 billion, and we will see if after building Phase 1, it is already okay or it needs to be connected or we need to dig underground.

Because if it works out that we do not need to dig underground and it does not need to be connected, it will be much cheaper.)

Ang said the group has already secured the permit from the Toll Regulatory Board, and has already obtained no objections. Utilities groups such as Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and Maynilad Water Services Inc. have also started to prepare for the project.

Construction is estimated to last a year, as Ang said the group is weighing the underground option as this would also cause heavy traffic.

“‘Pag nakita natin ‘yung merging traffic dun maramin pa rin at kailangan gumawa ng underground, we will then build an underground kasi underground is not only costly, but it will create traffic during construction,” he said.

“We cannot afford any traffic. We cannot afford adding more traffic in that area. Otherwise, kung pera lang eh ginawa na natin kaagad ‘yun,” he added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News