Manila - The Philippines on Tuesday finally opened a new terminal at its main international airport after almost six years of delay due to a dispute with its builders, a German-led consortium.

A pre-dawn flight to Caticlan airport in the central province of Aklan became the first to take off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Manila.

Caticlan is a connecting point for tourists going to Boracay Island, a favourite vacation destination known for its white-sand beaches.

Authorities said the NAIA Terminal 3 would operate only partially in the next six months to one year before it shifts to full domestic and international operations.

Tirso Serrano, NAIA 3 assistant general manager, said the new facility will handle eight inbound and outbound domestic flights daily for the first week.

So far, only Cebu Pacific Air, the second-largest airline in the Philippines, has moved to the new terminal, which has an annual passenger capacity of 13 million.

Serrano said other domestic airlines, such as Air Philippines and PAL Express, the budget unit of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines, will move operations to Terminal 3 next week.

"This terminal will be very productive," he said. "We remain consistent with our position, the terminal is safe and operable for passengers."

The facility was built by a consortium led by Germany's Fraport AG under a build-operate-transfer contract with the Philippine government.

It was initially scheduled to be opened in December 2002, but this was canceled when the Philippine government decided to scrap the contract, citing anomalies in the agreement.

The government eventually won a battle in the Supreme Court and expropriated the facility in December 2004, triggering a dispute with Fraport and its local partners in international arbitration courts.

The Philippine government has paid 3 billion pesos (66 million dollars) to the builders as a downpayment for the facility's cost. A full appraisal has yet to be completed.

The builders claim the project's cost is 565 million dollars, but the Philippine government said the price should only be 305 million dollars because fixtures and other components were not completed. (dpa)