ONGOING. The Tacloban Airport passenger terminal building (PTB) is under construction in this Sept. 20, 2023 photo. The PTB is 57.13 percent complete as of Sept. 25 and its completion date was moved to March 2024. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
MANILA – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) vowed to speed up the construction of the Tacloban Airport development project following reported delays.
In a statement on Tuesday, CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo said the delay was caused by the revision of plans for the passenger terminal building’s (PTB) roofing, arch finishes and access ramp.
“We would like to assure the people of Tacloban that the DOTr and CAAP are moving fast to guarantee the construction of the airport as soon as possible,” Tamayo said.
As of Monday, the overall status of the airport’s PTB is at 57.13 percent.
The revision, he said, was approved on Sept. 19, with the project’s completion date now moved to March 2024.
On the other hand, the asphalt overlay and runway strip width correction with concrete sheet piles for the improvement of the runway strip was bid out by the DOTr on Sept. 21.
The runway project is expected to start by December 2023 and will be completed exactly a year later.
An additional PHP500 million funding is also being sought for the continuation of the strip width correction and will be bid out in the fourth quarter of 2023 or once the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is approved.
In order to accommodate bigger aircraft like the A330, an additional budget of PHP238 million under the 2023 budget has been downloaded to the City Government of Tacloban for the land acquisition of eight additional hectares and is expected to be completed by December 2024. (PNA)
