Despite its broken-down condition, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 opened to domestic flights by June 30.
Prior to leaving on a state trip to the US, Arroyo vowed to land at and inspect the controversial terminal upon her return.
“We will return via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal III for our arrival cum inspection of our newest gateway,” she said in a statement.
Michael Defensor, head of a new task force supervising Terminal 3, said that barring any more unforeseen circumstances, the NAIA-3 should be opened to international flights by yearend.
“We will initially utilise it for the domestic flights in preparation for its full utilisation for international flights this year,” he said. “We will not fail our people in ensuring that this white elephant, the gateway of our country to the people of the world, will be opened for service,” he said in a statement.
“This will be our showcase to boost tourism, the economy and the confidence of the business sector and our OFWs [Overseas Foreign Workers],” he added.
Japanese firm Takenaka Corp. was the lead contractor hired by the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) to build the terminal in 1998. Piatco was the consortium that submitted the winning counter-bid to build the NAIA- 3 against the unsolicited proposal of AEDC, a corporation then formed by five Filipino-Chinese tycoons.
In December 2004, the Supreme Court nullified the build-operate transfer contract between Piatco and the government based on a number of considerations chiefly centered around corruption charges related to former Philippine President Joseph Estrada.
On the strength of the high court’s ruling, the government took over the terminal and started expropriation proceedings that in turn led to Piatco and its German investor, Fraport AG, to file cases before local and international courts.
In December 2005, the High Court issued a ruling ordering the government to pay Piatco just compensation if it wanted to take over Terminal 3.
MIAA was about to hold a soft opening of NAIA-3 in March 2006, when a portion of the ceiling collapsed