LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu—Thursday’s inauguration of the second terminal of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) proves that public-private partnership (PPP) is an effective means to accelerate infrastructure growth in the country, officials said on Thursday.

The airport, built by GMR-Megawide Cebu-Airport Corp. (GMCAC), a Filipino-Indian infrastructure venture, will be commercially opened on July 1.

President Duterte, who graced the airport’s inauguration, said the partnership between the government and the private sector retflects how the two groups can collaborate in developing necessary infrastructure for the Filipino people.

“The construction of this world-class transportation facility shows that the government and private sector are committed to provide our people with necessary infrastructure for them to live a more productive and meaningful life,” he said.

Duterte added that the airport will become a “beacon of progress” that will be a “catalyst in inclusive countryside development in the region.”

GMCAC President Louie B. Ferrer said the new terminal will help beef up the airport’s capacity to handle more passengers more efficiently and effectively.

“For the past years, MCIA’s demand has exceeded the physical capacity of its terminal. With the addition of Terminal 2, not only will we be able to sustainably cope with the steadily increasing number of passengers, we will also be able to open Cebu to more flights,” Ferrer said.

Terminal 2 will increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity to 12.5 million from 4.5 million.

The airport reached the 10 million passenger traffic mark in 2017, an 11.72-percent increase from 9.93 million the year prior. It aims to serve 11.2 million passengers by end-2018.

“This is an affirmation of the private sector’s efficiency and capability to deliver projects on schedule,” PPP Center Executive Director Ferdinand G. Pecson said.

Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade noted the beauty of the newly constructed airport, and his agency’s push for its on-time completion.

“It was our job to make sure that construction will be completed by June 2018 as stated in the contract, and that’s what we did, and that’s why we are here. No delays, no corruption,” he said.

The Filipino-Indian group started constructing the new terminal in June 2015.

The airport, envisioned to be the “friendliest gateway destination,” is host to 26 airlines flying to 25 international destinations and 30 domestic destinations.

Former PPP Center Executive Director Cosette V. Canilao said the airport is clear evidence that the infrastructure program is a valuable method to fund projects for nation building.

“It is very gratifying to again witness the realization of a dream,” she told the BusinessMirror. “It cemented the framework—policies and procedures—that was put in place in bidding out infrastructure projects via PPP.”

She recalled that the project is one of the earlier ones the feasibility study for which was funded out of the project development and monitoring fund established and managed by the PPP Center through a grant from the Asian Development Bank.

The Filipino-Indian joint venture started operating the airport in Mactan in November 2014, after winning the deal to modernize the existing facility while building a second terminal to support projected growth.

“Whenever PPP projects get completed, I vividly recall the late nights poured into the project by everyone involved from the very beginning, the obstacles that had to be overcome, the noise that had to be ignored, and the taunting that had to be endured. It is all worth it,” Canilao said.

The new terminal, spanning 65,500 square meters, will not only lessen congestion but will also offer an exciting and wide-ranging retail environment, its top proponents said. The architectural design is inspired by Cebu’s island heritage.

With the opening of the new facility, all international flights in and out of Cebu will be transferred to Terminal 2. Domestic flights will remain at Terminal 1.

The group has decided to bring in a new identity for the Mactan Airport with its new tagline, “Experience the Warmth of Cebu.”

Anchored on Cebu’s positioning as a resort destination and its vision of becoming the world’s friendliest airport, the airport will showcase to the world the natural gem of Cebu—the warmth and genuine hospitality of its people.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said that besides helping the government achieve its tourism goals for 2018, the facility will be a conduit to help reduce poverty and inequality.

“Tourism will become an agent to reduce poverty and inequality,” Romulo Puyat said.

Tourism department data showed that in March alone, 119,065 tourists flew in to Cebu, or 18.52 percent of the total foreign arrivals that month.

About 40 percent of the total foreign travelers going to Cebu are South Koreans; 15 percent, Japanese; 8 percent, Chinese; 6 percent, Americans; and 31 percent, mixed nationalities.

With the demand for travel to and from Cebu seen growing in the coming years, the Filipino-Indian group asked the government to further develop the airport through a P208-billion unsolicited proposal. Under the proposal, the company will take in the improvement, operations and maintenance of the runway and other related facilities, which to date remain with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).

This was not included in the modernization contract it won in December 2013.

The proposal, submitted on June 7, 2017, to the transportation department, has three main phases, spread throughout five decades.

First is to take over the airside facilities, and rehabilitate the existing runway and taxiways; construct an additional full-length parallel taxiway that can act as an emergency runway; and develop additional rapid exit taxiways and runway holding positions, all of which will improve the efficiency of aircraft movements. Second is to construct a second parallel and independent runway to significantly increase airside capacity.

Third is to build a third terminal in the area. These will allow the airport to accommodate at least 50 million passengers per annum.

The rehabilitation of existing airside facilities, together with the construction of a new runway, will help ease congestion in a single runway facility.

Once completed, the project will make MCIA the first airport in the Philippines with two parallel independent runways.

The project calls for expanding airport land in order to accommodate the new facilities, Hence, the group is now looking into options to minimize the impact on surrounding communities, such as a possible reclamation in Magellan Bay.