Clark airport raises capacity to 2.5m

Clark-based Diosdado Macapagal International Airport will raise its passenger capacity by 500,000 to 2.5 million annually starting this April, officials said.

The P300-million second phase expansion of the airport is on schedule with its March completion target, officials said.

President Arroyo will inspect today the airport, one of several infrastructure projects she has vowed to complete before her term ends in June.

The airport, which is named after her late father, will feature two aero bridges, flight information display, close-circuit television, background music, public address system, X-ray machines, escalators and elevators, among other modern amenities.

The airport is host to foreign and local carriers flying out of Clark to such routes as Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Hongkong, Macau, Bangkok and South Korea with connecting flights to the US, China and Japan.

The Macapagal airport and other major ports throughout the country have been developed or upgraded through an 800 percent increase in fund support given by the Arroyo administration, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza said. From 2001-2009, around P831 million was allocated for airport projects compared to the P99.84 million allocation from 1994 to 2000, he said.