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August 22, 2013

PRESS RELEASE

The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) Statement on Twin Airports (Clark-NAIA) Solution The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), composed of the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese and Korean Chambers of Commerce, and Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc. , recently communicated a position on the future development of principal gateway airports of the Philippines to DOTC Sec. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya. The JFC position called on the DOTC to seriously consider the so-called twin airports solution, an option based on the co-existence and improvement of both Clark and NAIA. While we recognize that the DOTC is also looking at the option of closing NAIA in favor of a new international gateway airport, we do believe that both aviation hubs would share a symbiotic relationship that benefits the domestic and foreign travelling public. We think it inadvisable to designate one hub for domestic and the other for international flights because the distance between them inconveniences passengers with domestic-international connecting flights. Rather, modernizing and improving the efficiency of NAIA and steadily expanding Clark will allow the convenience of executive travel at NAIA and cater best to the growth of the tourism industry, especially through budget travel, as laid down in the Philippine Development Plan, the Public Investment Program (PIP) and the Tourism Development Plan for 2013 to 2016. On this note, we highly recommend the following: The upgrade should include the modernization of all four terminals of NAIA, including its navigational equipment, for passenger safety, comfort and convenience. Modernization should also include improving inter -terminal transfer facilities & procedures between the four NAIA terminal buildings. Projects in Clark would include the rapid expansion of the budget terminal, construction of a gateway terminal, and installation of complete navigational equipment. Whilst we recognize that access to Clark is presently a problem, we strongly believe that plans for faster land transportation connections between Makati and Clark should be implemented as the twin airports policy will be put in place. Basing future airport policy for the National Capital and Central Luzon regions on the experience of two large Asian metropolises that today are served by two international airports: o Tokyo has developed Narita International Airport (58 kilometers east of Tokyo Station) and restricted Haneda International Airport (14 kilometers south of Tokyo

T he Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines

American

Australian-New Zealand

Canadian

European

Japanese

Korean

PAMURI

August 22, 2013

PRESS RELEASE

Station) largely to domestic flights. With 67 million passengers in 2012, Haneda is the busiest airport in Asia. In 2010 a fourth runway and an international terminal were opened in Haneda to avoid ground transit between Haneda and Narita and for the convenience of travelers living closer to Haneda. o Shanghai has developed Pudong International Airport (30 kilometers from the city center) for international traffic with 45 million passengers in 2012; the addition of 4 th and 5th runways is being planned. Hongqiao International Airport, with two parallel runways (13 kilometers from downtown Shanghai) served 33 million passengers in 2011. The main train station for the high speed rail connection to Beijing is located adjacent to the airport, which is also connected to the Pudong airport by rail. The JFC also supports the development of the PAGCOR Entertainment City project. With plans for as many as 8,000 hotel rooms in four gaming / entertainment complexes intended eventually to be larger than Las Vegas, it is important to consider the convenience of foreign destination travelers in quickly transiting to the new complex on the NAIA Expressway Phase 2 link with NAIA Terminal 3. It is important to note however that r equiring arrival at Clark and a long transit through heavy traffic may severely handicap the new project. In conclusion, we strongly support the development of a Clark-NAIA twin airports policy for the National Capital and Central Luzon regions because we believe this is the best solution to accommodate future growth of Philippine aviation. The passenger catchment area for these regions is approximately 40 million persons, comparable to greater Shanghai and greater Tokyo. With anticipated continued high economic growth for the Philippines and achievement of the government tourism plan goal of 10 million visitors by 2016, we urge learning from examples cited above to develop and upgrade rapidly the existing airports at NAIA and Clark

T he Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines

American

Australian-New Zealand

Canadian

European

Japanese

Korean

PAMURI

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