MANILA (AFP) - Part of the ceiling at the new international airport terminal collapsed Monday, likely delaying its much-postponed opening scheduled for later this week, an official said.
No one was injured when the ceiling fell in the arrivals section of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal-3, airport assistant general manager Angel Atutubo said.
''Its opening may be delayed because we will have to investigate the accident. We want to ensure the safety of passengers,'' Atutubo told AFP. He did not set a new opening date.
Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye on Monday assured the public that the terminal ''will be open within this year.''
The $ 650-million terminal was built by a consortium that included Germany's Fraport AG and was completed in 2002.
It has been mothballed for the past three years after President Gloria Arroyo said certain provisions of the contract were later found to be disadvantageous to the government. The government said construction was also substandard and that changes had to be made.
The terminal was set to be opened officially on March 31 to ease passenger traffic in Manila's two existing terminals. It was built to handle 13 million passengers a year.
The transporation department ''is making sure that the terminal will run smoothly and safely when opened to commercial operations,'' Bunye said in a statement.
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