The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) needs to build another terminal and plans to take back the 36-hectare property it has given to Nayong Pilipino to be converted into an extension of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 and cargo center via a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme with the private sector, MIAA General Manager Melvin Matibag told reporters this week.

“We hope we will get back the land,” he noted. Under Presidential Decree 37 which created Nayong Pilipino in 1972, MIAA donated the land to showcase the Philippines. But now, the GM is studying the decree. “We want to see if we can take it back for airport operations.”

MIAA’s three terminals handled a total of 24 million passengers in 2009. It is capable of handling 32.5 million but it needs to expand soon, according to the GM.

Last year, NAIA Terminal 1 handled 4 million passengers and is already at full capacity. NAIA T2 can accommodate 8 to 9 million domestic and international passengers and is also at full capacity. NAIA T3, which can accommodate 13 million international passengers, has handled 8.8 million passengers from Cebu Pacific Air (CEB).

MIAA’s three international airports handle 90 percent of international travel, with the 10 percent balance being divided among other airports located in the country’s commercial hubs, such as Cebu, Davao, Clark and Ilocos. However, the prospect of being an international gateway for aviation is still remote for MIAA.

“In order to be a successful gateway, a terminal should be just fifteen to thirty minutes from the commercial district of a country,” GM Matibag pointed out and it needs to have enough capacity for handling about half a hundred million passengers, like Hong Kong International Airport.