The demolition of the Philippine Village Hotel (PVH) on April 21 will pave the way for the construction of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 5, according to Angelito Alvarez, general manager of NAIA operator New NAIA Infrastructure Corp (NNIC).
The demolition will take five months while construction of NAIA Terminal 5 is expected to be completed in two to three years.
“Right after Holy Week, we will demolish it (PVH) and we will build a new terminal, Terminal 5. So maybe in two to three years’ time, that will be finished,” NNIC general manager Angelito Alvarez announced in a briefing today (April 10) at Terminal 3.
NNIC president Ramon Ang earlier said the planned Terminal 5 will have a capacity of 35 million passengers per year.
Terminal 4, on the other hand, will be decommissioned due to safety concerns and its operations relocated to the old International Cargo Terminal. The terminal is expected to serve domestic operations of AirAsia and some of Cebu Pacific’s.
Meanwhile, Alvarez said NNIC is investing in new technology to streamline passenger processing. The company has signed an agreement with Collins Aerospace to implement a comprehensive suite of self-service systems, including self-bag drop, self-check-in, and biometric authentication.
“By September, these will be fully deployed. This is the kind you see in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan—we’re bringing that here,” Alvarez said.
The airport’s transformation comes as NAIA continues to operate well above its original design capacity. Passenger traffic reached over 51 million in 2024 against its intended capacity of around 34 million. This year, traffic will rise to 54 million, Alvarez said.
Despite the pressure, he said the airport was able to manage the December and January surges in traffic without major delays, crediting improved coordination with airlines and changes in boarding arrangements.
To address persistent bottlenecks in immigration, Alvarez said the Bureau of Immigration is hiring additional officers and plans to introduce more automated e-gates in the coming months.
At the heart of the modernization effort, according to Alvarez, is improving the overall passenger experience—a directive he said came straight from NNIC president Ramon Ang.
“He (Ang) said, from the moment you arrive, you should no longer be greeted with traffic and the stress of finding parking. That’s where the negative experience begins,” Alvarez said. “We’ve added more curbside space and parking slots, and in the coming months, we’ll install canopies along the walkways for added comfort.