President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday expressed confidence that his administration is “one step closer” to attaining its goal of providing “safe, efficient, and sustainable” airport services in the country.
Marcos made the remark after his meeting with officials of New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors, in London.
“Our vision for safe, efficient, and sustainable airports in the Philippines is one step closer to reality,” he said in a Facebook post.
Mr. Marcos had the chance to tour London Gatwick Airport, which is co-managed by GIP.
“This learning experience has provided us with valuable insights as to how we can develop the truly world-class airports we aspire to build in the Philippines,” he said. “We had a productive meeting with Global Infrastructure Partners, the company behind Gatwick Airport’s exceptional infrastructure, technology, and operations, and were given a tour to explore some of their best practices firsthand.”
The GIP, founded in 2006, is a leading global independent infrastructure fund that administers $87 billion in assets on behalf of its investor base.
GIP has expressed its commitment to invest in the Philippines to improve transportation system efficiency, increase renewable energy production, and advance digital transformation.
Meanwhile, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and its power distributor Manila Electric Co. started their electrical audit over the weekend following the 8-hour power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Labor Day.
MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said they will come up with the result of the audit after three weeks.
Co said once the audit is concluded, MIAA will be able to determine the necessary equipment needed to upgrade, rehabilitate or purchase to make the power system at the terminal reliable and resilient.
The airport management will then determine the timeline as well as the required budget for the procurement of critical components of its electrical facilities, generator sets, and implement the necessary power systems upgrade at Terminal 3.
“We need to buy or lease additional generators and we are discussing with stakeholders and that’s the time to determine how much budget is needed,” said Co.
