“… NAIA and its increased passenger capacity should not contribute to traffic congestion if it takes advantage of available railway links.”
The modernization of the nation’s premier airport―the Ninoy Aquino International Airport―will close one chapter of tourism embarrassment.
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has emerged victorious in the bidding for the upgrade and management of NAIA. The company led by president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang, or RSA, now has the enviable task of upgrading NAIA and making it at par, at least, with some of Asia’s modern and chic airports.
NAIA has in the past earned a bad reputation and ranked top in the “World’s Worst Airports” and “Airports with the longest queuing time.” San Miguel and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, who recently announced the conglomerate as the winner of NAIA bidding, will have a chance to change that image to lure more foreign tourists to the Philippines.
Partnering with San Miguel in the NAIA upgrade is Incheon International Airport Corp., the operator of South Korea’s main airport. Incheon Airport ranks fourth on the list of the Top 10 most beautiful and best airports in the world.
San Miguel is the perfect fit for the job because of its experience in managing other infrastructure projects, specially road and rail. It built the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, or TPLEx, that made travel to Baguio and Northern Luzon faster and more convenient. TPLEx sped up the flow of people and goods to towns in the central and northern parts of Luzon.
San Miguel also built the Metro Manila Skyway 3, the extension of the original skyway from Makati to Balintawak. Vehicles heading to Central and Northern Luzon from the southern part of Luzon no longer need to pass through and experience Metro Manila’s notorious traffic jams.
Transforming NAIA into a modern hub, however, could worsen the traffic congestion in the capital region. The airport’s makeover will enable it to serve up to 70 million passengers a year efficiently, or more than double its current capacity.
A modern NAIA with a much bigger passenger capacity will certainly contribute to the traffic logjam in Metro Manila, unless it offers a solution to address the gridlock it will create.
A growing population, the lack of mass transportation system and wide roads, and the continuous migration of workers from the provinces have created the perfect storm that is causing mayhem in the whole of the capital region. The traffic situation in the metropolis may get worse even before it improves. Growing vehicle sales in the Philippines are further constricting the capacities of the roads in Metro Manila.
But NAIA and its increased passenger capacity should not contribute to traffic congestion if it takes advantage of available railway links. Modern urban centers in the world build and design their airports with a rail link to improve the accessibility of passengers to downtown areas or, in some cases, suburbs or distant cities.
One railway link that will provide solution to NAIA’s emerging traffic problem is the North South Commuter Railways (NSCR) project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Work at the 147-kilometer rail transportation system has already started. Once completed, the NSCR will expedite travel from New Clark City in Pampanga and Tarlac to Calamba City in Laguna. The project, jointly funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will pass through Metro Manila and is expected to cut travel time by more than half.
The NSCR project will certainly help improve commuters’ travel experience and provide motorists in Metro Manila more transportation options. It will have 36 stations and include a regular commuter service, a commuter express line with limited stops and an airport express service to the Clark International Airport.
The NSCR will be linked to the Metro Manila Subway, a 33.1-km subway that will stretch from Valenzuela to NAIA, connecting 17 stations and a depot. It will be the first mass underground transport system in the Philippines.
The NSCR will also serve as the major link to the LRT/MRT-lines in Metro Manila. It is designed to improve connectivity by providing direct train services for passengers traveling from Calamba and Pampanga to Bonifacio Global City, Ortigas and Quezon City along the Metro Manila Subway.
It is expected to reduce travel time from Calamba, Laguna to Clark, Pampanga from the current 4.5 hours to just less than two hours, and serve 600,000 passengers daily on full operations.
Like NAIA, the NSCR will be a game changer. The determination of the current administration and DOTr will soon bring significant relief to residents of Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. The DOTr under the leadership of Bautista and DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Jeremy Regino deserve credit for initiating the NSCR.
This railway project is what a modern economy needs.
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