DOTC seeks suppliers of vital airport equipment
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has turned to the private sector for help in upgrading equipment for night landing operations in eight regional airports.
In a published notice Friday, the DOTC said that private companies are welcome to bid for the supply of various airfield lighting, communications and meteorological equipment to be used in airfields in Butuan, Cotabato, Dumaguete, Tuguegarao, Dipolog, Roxas, Ozamiz and Busuanga.
The projects are collectively worth about P434.5 million, the DOTC said.
The government currently is trying to improve airport facilities as it expects a surge in tourist arrivals and business activities. The Department of Tourism expects visitor arrivals to hit 10 million by 2016, from about 4.3 million last year.
“Congestion of arriving and departing aircraft in Manila’s premier airport is a dilemma of the air transport sector and needs to be addressed by the DOTC and CAAP [Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines],” the DOTC said in its notice.
“One of the solutions is the upgrading of night landing operations of eight airports, in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and recommended practices,” it added.
Three packages are being auctioned off by the DOTC. The largest is the P258.9-million upgrade of “power supply systems” for the Busuanga, Cotabato, Dipolog, Ozamiz and Roxas airports.
The remaining packages are the P159.6-million upgrade of communications equipment, and a P16-million upgrade of meteorological instruments. Each auction will be conducted via an open competitive bidding procedure using “nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion,” the DOTC said.
The pre-bid conference for the three projects is on May 6 and the issuance of bid documents is on April 22. Bid documents for the communications package will be opened on June 5, while that for the meteorological and power supply packages are set on June 6 and June 7, the DOTC added.
