NEWSFLASH

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CLARK AIRPORT SOON TO BE WORLD CLASS FACILITY
(Reprinted with permission from The Philippine Journal)

Clark Field, Feb. 22, 1998 - The Clark International Airport is now being developed into a world class airport facility, not just for tourism purposes but also to become a "regional distribution" and "aviation service" center.

Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president Romeo David stressed the urgency of upgrading Clark airport at the soonest time possible to meet the expected rise in passenger and air cargo traffic in the Asian region.

Within the next 25 years, David said, Clark airport can handle up to 50 million passengers a year, while the average air traffic in the region is estimated to be about 350 million. A substantial increase in air cargo traffic has also been projected.

"In anticipation of these developments, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Japan, Thailand and even the island territory of Macau have built or are starting to construct new airports to service giant, wide-bodied jumbo jets to meet the challenge of the market forces," David said.

He pointed out that investors willing to infuse millions of dollars in Clark have been attracted by the plan to develop and operate Clark as a regional distribution and aviation service center by the year 2000.

Among the facilities still awaiting construction at Clark are parallel runways with a world class terminal and modern cargo handling equipment and infrastructure to provide the necessary airside and landside capacity.

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