CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga, Jan.22 (PIA) -- The new Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of Clark International Airport (CRK) has been officially handed over to Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) by Megawide GMR Construction Joint Venture in a ceremony today.

After the symbolic handover of the project, DOTr and BCDA officially turned over its operations and maintenance to Luzon International Premier Airport Development (LIPAD) Corporation, the operator of CRK.

"When we envisioned this project, nobody believed that we can make it happen. There were doubts and skepticism which may have defeated us along the way and hindered the completion of our goal. However, our determination and resolve were much stronger than any disbelief. Now, they will finally believe," DOTr Secretary Tugade said in his speech delivered by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director General Jim Sydiongco, who represented the cabinet official during the ceremony.

From conceptualization, execution to completion, CRK's new PTB is one of the fastest undertaken big-ticket infrastructure projects by any government or any administration.

It can accommodate 8 million passengers on its opening year, almost tripling the airport's passenger capacity from the current 4.2 million to 12.2 million annually.

The airport expansion project for CRK has been completed by the end of September 2020, ahead of its original October target completion date amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

LIPAD Corporation CEO Bi Yong Chungunco said it is high-time for the airport to have a new PTB. "We hit 4 million passengers. And that's why, it is time for us to move into this new terminal, with a capacity of 8.2 million passengers," she said.

She disclosed the plan of converting the old passenger terminal building into a vaccination hub.

"Our facility will be ready to vaccinate more than 10,000 people a day. Because what can be more perfect than having CRK as a vaccine hub and have the vaccination center right next door," the official shared.

CRK serves as a major gateway for Luzon that will soon be linked with the PNR North-South Commuter Railway and Subic-Clark Railway. PTB's architecture is inspired by the Sierra Madre mountain range, and is designed to be disaster-resilient as well. (CLJD-PIA 3)