The Clark International Airport’s (CRK) new passenger terminal building (PTB) will open to the public “very soon”, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced Friday.

In a Facebook post, the DOTr said the completion of the new PTB means that the Terminal 2 of CRK is “now ready for the world” and would boost the airport’s annual operational capacity from 4.2 million passengers at present to 12.2 million.

“This terminal will further usher the CRK into the future as ‘Asia’s Next Premier Gateway’. It will redefine the air travel experience of its passengers and will strengthen the overall capability of the airport,” the department said.

Aside from decongesting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), CRK’s new PTB would also provide more jobs and boost tourism and the region’s economy, it added.

In another Facebook post, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the project has employed more than 1,600 workers and the figure is expected to increase once the facility starts operating.

The PTB, Tugade said, was completed “at a record rate” and has “unique features”, among them contactless baggage handling, contactless passenger check-in and check-out, and contactless ordering in restaurants.

“Mayroon ding Heroes Lounge para magamit nang libre ng ating mga modernong bayani, gaya ng mga pulis, sundalo, at OFWs (There’s a Heroes Lounge that can be used for free by members of the police, soldiers, and overseas Filipino workers),” he said.

Tugade said CRK’s new Terminal 2 would be inspected on Saturday, with President Rodrigo Duterte as one of the guests. (PNA)