The development of Samar’s busiest airport will continue until 2019, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Project Management Service Director Eduardo Mangalili said in a project presentation here Tuesday.
“This year, the
airport got a budget of PHP248 million for the completion of widening of
runway, apron expansion, runway strip grade correction, construction of runway
safety area, construction of vertically separated approaches, and construction
of perimeter and security fence,” Mangalili said.
The DOTr had bid out
the 2018 project two weeks ago and civil works will proceed this year, said the
DOTr official.
For the 2015 to 2017
appropriations, the airport got an allocation of PHP781 million. The past
releases was meant for widening of runway, including shoulder grade correction,
asphalt overlay, passenger terminal building, apron and taxiway construction,
expanded runway site expansion, and shore protection area.
In May 2017, DOTr
started the construction of new passenger terminal and site development. It is
expected to be finished on April 28, 2019, Mangalili added.
The construction will
increase the passenger capacity of the airport tenfold from the present 450
square meters (sqm) to 4,500 sqm.
The airport's apron
will also be expanded to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization
standards as the present ramp is too narrow to support an airbus A320 jet.
The airport that
serves more than 2,000 passengers monthly has a runway length of 2,100 meters
and is classified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines as a minor
domestic airport.
Calbayog, one of the
biggest cities in the country in terms of land area, has regular flights to
Clark by Philippine Airlines and to Cebu by Cebu Pacific.
The Duterte
administration committed the full development of the Calbayog Airport until
2022 with a price tag of PHP1.2 billion. (SQM/PNA)
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