Former U.S. Air Force Base In The Philippines Expands Commercial Airline Services With New Airport Facilities

Clark Field, Philippines (AHN) - The Clark Civil Aviation Complex, a former United States air base in the Philippines and now a premier economic zone, continues its expansion of commercial airline services with the building of new airport facilities.

A $21 million world class hangar owned by a Manila-based regional carrier and $100 million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility by a joint venture were broken ground last Friday and Thursday, respectively.

The two facilities will be built at Clark's Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the country's newest international gateway.

The 23-acre hangar will be operated by Spirit of Manila Airlines, which will start Clark-Taipei and Clark-Macau flights in November. Plans are underway to further expand international flights to Japan and the Middle East.

Once completed next year, the hangar will service wide bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800, Airbus A-320 and A-380.

The MRO facility, on the other hand, is expected to be completed by mid 2009. It is a joint venture company between SIA Engineering Philippines, a unit of Singapore Airlines-owned SIA Engineering Co., and Cebu-based Cebu Pacific Air.

The 23-acre MRO facility will have three large hangars and could service the Airbus 320, Boeing 747s and 777s.

Over 1,200 jobs are expected to be generated from the new facilities.

In the late 1990s, the Philippine Senate voted against the extension of a lease agreement of U.S. military facilities in the country including the Clark Airbase near Angeles City, Pampanga.

The withdrawal of U.S. military presence in the Philippines was further hastened with the eruption of Pinatubo in 1992, one of the largest and devastating natural disasters in the last century. Tons of volcanic ash rendered the Clark Airbase inutile.

Despite the devastation, the Philippine government continues to transform the 6,172-acre Clark complex into a world class international air transport hub in the country.