Showcase Of A Partnership

The second busiest airport in the Philippines and the country’s first privatised airport under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, Mactan-Cebu International Airport is undergoing a transformation that is attracting the eyes of the aviation world. Spearheading the changes as a partner is India’s airport infrastructure major GMR

GMR-MEGAWIDE Cebu Air-port Corporation (GMCAC) won the bid to build-operate-transfer the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) for 25 years. The concession agreement includes the construction of a new terminal as well as the renovation and expansion of the existing terminal. MCIA was officially handed over to GMCAC in November 1, 2014. Three months after the handover, GMRMEGAWIDE commenced on the rehabilitation of the existing Terminal which had a design capacity of only 4.5 mn but was already handling 6 mn passengers per annum.

A CAPA report mentioned that the Mactan-Cebu International Airport had been growing rapidly as its hub prospects had improved with the congestion at Manila. The report pointed out that Cebu had “emerged as one of the fastest-growing airports in Southeast Asia, with passenger growth of 13 per cent through the first 10 months of 2015”. The airport had been boosted by the relaunch of several domestic routes by the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Group, as well as international expansion from PAL, Cebu Pacific and foreign carriers.

CAPA forecast that MCIA was poised for more rapid growth in 2016 as PAL continued to pursue expansion at its second hub, with more new domestic routes and the launch of services to Los Angeles, Cebu’s first long haul route. The Cebu Pacific Group also planned to expand its Cebu base in 2016, with at least two more turboprops.

The report said that the new terminal would increase annual capacity to 12.5 mn annual passengers. The new terminal would enable Cebu to emerge as a hub for transit traffic, and to benefit further from infrastructure constraints at Manila, that have been instrumental in pushing Philippine carriers to base additional aircraft at secondary cities.