System for Cebu Airport Expansion Proposed

It is possible to expand the capacity of an airport in a few months and without disrupting operations, according to experts.

Clem Mcloskey, senior vice president for Asia operations of the General Electric Commercial Aviation Services, disclosed that their company has done a similar job with the airports in London and in Hainan, China using the modular system.

In a courtesy call with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia last Wednesday, Mcloskey said that the system is a cheaper way of expanding an airport’s capacity, not to mention cleaner and faster.

Moreover, it can also support Cebu’s economy because materials needed in the system could be sourced locally.

“We intend to bring our team here and let them loose for a few days,” said Mcloskey.

Finding out first hand the situation at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the team could check for themselves how Cebu could have a better but low cost and passenger-friendly terminal and most importantly, expanding its capacity.

Tourism and airport officials have long been stating that the Cebu international airport should have undergone expansion years ago.

“We needed this yesterday,” said Gov. Garcia, who sits at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority board of directors.

Gov. Garcia also believes that public-private partnership is the best way to go for the expansion.

Plans have yet to be finalized, but taking into consideration the rise in the number of passengers using the airport, and the aim to make Cebu as the region’s tourism hub, the airport may be expanded to accommodate eight to 12 million passengers from the current four million.