Bidding set to fix Naia

Following another ceiling collapse, the state operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) plans to bid out next month a P151-million construction contract to upgrade the parapet walls, eaves and elevated roadway at Terminal 1.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said bid documents were issued to interested parties beginning last Wednesday, with the submission and opening of bids scheduled for June 28.

MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado told reporters the agency was addressing the concerns of the Airline Operators Council after slabs of concrete fell from a portion of the ceiling above the ramp and Gate 7 of Terminal 1 on May 3.

Honrado blamed the vibrations and echo caused by aircraft for the destabilization of the parapet roof and eaves of the terminal.

“We allocated P150 million for the repairs, but it has to undergo a bidding first,” he said.

According to Honrado, it would take around eight months to renovate some 30,000 square meters of the ceiling surface.

In a television interview, Transportation Secretary Emilio Abaya said the construction as well as the mechanical, electrical and plumbing repairs were part of the ongoing rehabilitation of Terminal 1.

“It (ceiling collapse) doesn’t happen often, but clearly it’s a safety hazard,” he said.—Jerome Aning