Structural audit set for aging Naia 1 terminal

The airport authority is undertaking a structural investigation of the 29-year-old Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (Naia) Terminal 1 which it expects to complete within the year.

A local engineering firm, P-Square, has been contracted to carry out the project, said Antonio Bautista, the senior assistant general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).

He said the assessment of the Terminal 1’s structural integrity and stability will also involve the international cargo terminal.

The probe will take at least six months, and its results will become the basis of the repairs or retrofitting of the old terminal, Bautista said.

30 years in use

Dante Basanta, the Terminal 1 manager, explained that the Miaa does not have its own structural engineers to carry out the job, hence the need to contract the services of an outside firm.

He said the probe will try to answer the question of Naia 1’s safety after nearly 30 years of being in use.

Basanta said the experts will inspect the entire terminal for any cracks, deflections or unevenness of the floors, and the structural soundness of its beams and columns.

He said the terminal was showing its age in the form of cracks on the walls of some of the offices and hallways.

“Some of the parapet walls and plastering are giving way, we’re addressing that as well,” Basanta said.

The plan to conduct a structural probe of Terminal 1 has been in the works since late 2010, even before the recent accidents that merited an inspection from President Benigno Aquino III himself, he said.

P-Square won the P9.4 million contract through regular bidding.

The results of the structural investigation are expected to come out by early next year.

As for other renovations, Bautista said the refurbishing of the old terminal’s rest rooms is now ongoing.