Image credits: Business Mirror file photo
MABALACAT, Pampanga—Luzon International Premier Airport Development (LIPAD) Corp., the private operator of Clark International Airport, said on Tuesday it is looking forward to see people getting inoculated at a vaccination hub it plans to put up inside the existing terminal.
During a media walk-through in the gateway’s upcoming passenger terminal, LIPAD Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bi Yong Chungunco said the company has already presented its proposal to concerned government agencies, including the Department of Health Region 3, and touched base with the private sector.
“I’m very excited about it,” she said. “So, hopefully, the government or the private sector, if they need a mass vaccination center, we will be ready.”
LIPAD Corporate Communications Manager Teri Flores told the BusinessMirror that since the proposal is “already on the table”, they are now awaiting response from the national government, local government units, and the private sector.
“We have received positive feedback from the people who heard the proposal, but we understand that they have a lot on their plate at the moment given that the first stage of the vaccination program has already started,” Flores said.
With the limited passenger traffic at present, she said they can start this initiative anytime as they have also offered to dedicate a portion of the terminal that is ready for use.
What makes the airport suitable for immunization is that it can accept a lot of aircraft carrying vaccines and it is near the 3 locators in Clark Freeport Zone which are fully equipped with cold storage facilities of up to minus 20 degrees, according to Chungunco.
“So you can imagine, it’s very easy to just unload and just put it in a cold storage. And what’s important is once you want to use the vaccine the vaccination center is only five minutes away from the cold storage. So you minimize logistics requirements,” she said.
Around 10,000 people can be accommodated daily by the existing terminal, with a floor area of 25,000 square meters, once the proposed immunization center materializes.
Security-wise, the CEO noted that LIPAD can handle a large number of people as crowd management is part of its expertise as an airport operator.
“Therefore, if the vaccines arrive, we can manage the crowd,” Chungunco said.
The existing terminal will retire once the new aviation facility which can accommodate 8.2 million passengers becomes operational by July.
Built by Megawide-GMR, the new terminal of Clark International Airport was handed over to LIPAD, which was awarded the 25-year concession agreement to operate and maintain it.
LIPAD is the consortium of Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc., and Changi Airports Philippines (I) Pt. Ltd.
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