Despite controversies on the project and after years of delay in operation, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 will have a dry run on July 23 with initial 23 domestic flights per day.

Presidential Task Force on NAIA-3 Chief Michael Defensor, in a telephone interview with Palace reporters, said “in terms of facility and readiness of the airport, we are working on that since the past weeks… since the arrival of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo because of legal condition that had to be satisfied.”

“We’ll start on July 23rd under dry run. We will have Cebu Pacific at saka under Philippine Airlines express, and Air Philippines,” he said.

“We hope that we open under a dry run basis. Once we open international flight, it (NAIA-3) should be fully operational — 23 domestic flights from July 23 for six months. Most probably, by February or March (pati international),” he added.

When fully operational, Defensor said NAIA 3 will service about 140 flights a day.

He said terminal fees that will be collected from the airlines will be put into an escrow until the government has complied with the Supreme Court order to pay NAIA 3’s builder, the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (PIATCo).

PIATCo is asking from the Philippine government US$ 565 million as compensation, while the German firm Fraport is asking for a US$ 425 million settlement for its investments in the expropriated facility.

NAIA Terminal 3 is more than 90 percent completed in 2002 but the Supreme Court prevented it from opening as it voided a multi-billion-dollar contract between the government and the international consortium over graft issues.

An attempt to open the terminal last year was aborted after engineers found structural problems, among them a ceiling that collapsed and weakened beams.

Repairs are still ongoing.

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