CAAP to expand Tacloban airport terminal building

TACLOBAN CITY, April 6 (PNA) – The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will carry out a PHP20 million expansion of the airport terminal building here to curb the perennial problem of congestion, a top regional official said Thursday.

Danilo Abareta, CAAP Eastern Visayas area manager, said their central office has been drafting the contract of the project, which is up for implementation this year.

“It‘s already under process after it was bid out by our central office. After the signing of the notice to proceed, the project will start immediately,” Abareta told the Philippine News Agency. The official, however, declined to disclose the project’s specific timeline.

The PHP20 million project will prioritize the expansion of the pre-departure and check-in areas of the city’s Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport.

“The pre-departure area has an existing 360 seats. We want to expand it to accommodate 560 passengers. We have registered a million passengers coming in and out of the airport every year and the problem of congestion is terrible,” Abareta said.

The DZR Airport is one of the country’s busiest with 14 daily flights from and to Manila and Cebu.

CAAP pushed for the implementation of the project less than two years after the PHP43.63 million reconstruction of the one-storey terminal building that was badly damaged by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The expansion project is part of the PHP1.59 billion worth of DZR Airport development projects under the 2016 allotment.

The official cited the need to improve the existing facility while waiting for the construction of a new terminal building nearby under the long term plan.

The DZR Airport, classified as Class 1 major domestic airport, is the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to the Eastern Visayas region. The airport is named after former House Speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez, an uncle of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.(PNA)
SARWELL Q. MENIANO