Clark International Airport will welcome its new passenger terminal building by January after workers completed exterior construction work last month.
The new terminal will triple the airport’s capacity from its current 4.2 million passengers to 12.2 million passengers per year. Clark is home to seven casinos located within Clark Freeport Zone – which sits directly alongside the airport – with at least two more in the works, all of them counting South Korea as their primary source of gambling revenue.
According to an update by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), construction of the new terminal was completed on 30 September with workers now installing interior fittings.
“The new passenger terminal building is slated to commence operations by January next year,” the DOTr said. It remains to be seen, however, how many flights it will welcome by then given ongoing international travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines itself continues to struggle with the virus, reporting 1,990 new cases on Tuesday.
The new passenger terminal is a “priority project” under President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.