The debate on the terminals and use of the apron has in the past drifted into the same "when will they, why don't they, they will be" area of speculation as the Hainan debate.
MAG is between a rock and a hard place. The current resurgence in pax numbers and the way airline alliances and mergers have come about mean that the use of both terminal and apron space has had to be reactive rather than planned. Add to that the demands of security, the legacy of the drive to convert airports into shopping malls in the last two decades and the eventual admission of the LoCos and we have seen a well organised and at times under utilised facility of thirty odd years ago turned into what at times can only be described as a mess.
New buildings don't just appear and the timing of announcements has to take into account a vast range of considerations from raising finance, through working with the statuary authorities, discussions with the airlines on the impact of the work in progress to the possible reaction of the NIMBYS and the environmentalists.
There is no doubt the will is there but, unlike in many other countries, major projects in the UK can't and don't just happen and the timing of announcements and what is said is subject to a great deal of discussion and fine tuning.
In the meantime, there are many airports in major cities around the world as bad and worse than MAN. Rio's international area can see hour long queues for security and immigration in the evening and even since new gate areas were built for the World Cup and Olympics, the food options are very poor. Auckland's bioscreening for inbound passengers is a nightmare when the three Emirates A380s arrive every afternoon in close order.
JFK has arrogant TSA staff and massive departure queues of aircraft every evening. Sitting on an aircraft on the ground for up to an hour waiting for your turn on the runway is just as bad as having to wait in any type of line. LAX terminals are vastly different one to another and ground transfer to car rental or hotels can be a nightmare. Terminal E outbound at IAH has massive queues most late afternoons as the European flights check in and the food and drink facilities airside at the gates are both limited and expensive ($15 for a pint of domestic beer and an orange juice).
Inbound, Terminal E transportation centre is a covered, smelly, hot hell hole with no real order to the system for hotel and car rental buses. There are dozens of other examples.
Just be patient and hold any comments until we see what is proposed.