Megawide GMR vows to improve NAIA processes

MANILA, Philippines — Megawide Construction Corp. and its partner GMR Infrastructure Ltd. of India have vowed to end the flight delays passengers are experiencing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) should it be able to push through with its proposed P109-billion upgrade plan.

“Our objective really is to make sure that there will be no delays, especially in the airside. We want to fix that problem immediately by having the good experience of no delays,” Megawide chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra said.

By improving processes and working together with the NAIA team, Saavedra assured that Megawide and GMR’s unsolicited proposal would solve the problem of delays often encountered by passengers.

“One of the big challenges of course is you board your aircraft on time and  you are at the holding point for nearly 40 minutes waiting for departure. We will eradicate those type of delays and bring us to a global standard,” GMR Megawide Cebu Airport chief executive advisor Andrew Harrison said.

Harrison said the group is confident it would be able to organize the traffic flow and significantly improve the movement rate at the country’s main international gateway.

“We know how to do that. We will engage the stakeholders. We will work with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, our airline customers, and with the expertise of the NAIA personnel who will be part of this solution to help us achieve this objective,” he said.

GMR, which has a 40 percent equity participation in the project, is among the world’s top airport operators.

Megawide and GMR said travelers flying in and out of the NAIA complex would experience a dramatic improvement in comfort, efficiency, and safety in the first year alone of its proposed NAIA rehabilitation and transformation plan.

Their proposal will increase NAIA’s current capacity of 30 million to 65 million passengers per annum over a strategic and phased approach.

Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are targeted to see massive improvements, particularly in the first phases of the concession, enabling passengers to have efficient use of facilities, faster transactions, and enjoy their stay in the terminals with better dining and retail experience.

Megawide and GMR will also construct an additional taxiway and include runway holding areas to allow planes to queue and depart at the soonest time that the runway is available to make air traffic significantly manageable.

Phases two and three of the plan will be dedicated to relocation and replication of existing facilities, developing a brand new international terminal, enhancing all parking, and the introduction of a railway-based people-mover system.

Megawide is hoping that the Swiss challenge for the project will be completed by the first quarter of next year.