CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president Jojit Alcazar said that the agency expects air traffic volume to escalate by the second quarter, citing the need to ensure that the new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Clark International Airport is up and ready.

In a statement released on 17 February, Alcazar said that the new ATC tower is the national government’s innovative solution that will uphold safety standards and improve operational efficiency in air traffic management.

The tower infrastructure project was awarded to MSV Construction and Supplies, together with the Northern Builders Construction Corp.

The new 18-story air traffic control tower with panoramic views of the airfield will address the existing line-of-sight issue on the north-end approach area of the runway, create an optimal operational environment by providing maximum visibility during air traffic control operations, he added.

“Our country’s airports frequently face perennial challenges such as airspace congestion, equipment breakdown, weather disturbances, and the complexity of air traffic management,” Alcazar said.

“There will be a continued increase in global air traffic levels as they have reached, or in certain regions even surpassed, pre-pandemic numbers,” he added.

Alcazar said the Clark tower will apply innovative communication technology used in leading airports all over the world and devoted to safety and international standardization.

“The surge in travel volume adds up to the challenges faced by ATC operations at Clark, and so a new system capable to quickly identify and mitigate these challenges is needed,” Alcazar said.