Seven airports in various provinces are about to get a major facelift.
The Department of Transportation Wednesday published P1.1 billion worth of airport improvement projects, a large part of which involved the construction of new passenger terminals to cater to increasing demand.
These airports are General Santos International Airport, Calbayog Airport, Sanga-Sanga Airport, Catarman Airport, Siquijor Airport, Romblon Airport and Ozamiz Airport, a published notice from the DOTr showed.
Bid documents were issued Wednesday and the deadline for submission bids would be between Nov. 8 and Nov. 9. Bids will be opened on the same day.
The largest project listed was the P462.52-million expansion of the General Santos passenger terminal in South Cotabato. According to the DOTr, this involves increasing the existing terminal building’s footprint three times to 12,000 sqm.
Another big project was the construction of a new passenger terminal at the Calbayog Airport in Samar. Apart from the new passenger terminal, the project’s P445-million budget also covers the apron expansion, new taxiway and site development works.
The Siquijor airport would also get a new passenger terminal, the DOTr said. The P39.3-million project would span 656 sqm. For the Sanga-Sanga project, the DOTr set a budget of P130.7 million for the expansion and extension of its runway while a P40.5- million runway asphalt overlay project was set for the Romblon Airport.
The DOTr said the Ozamiz Airport would get a riverbank protection system, while Catarman Airport would undergo apron re-blocking project.
The deals were in line with the government’s plan to improve existing air transport infrastructure. A key initiative here was the P108-billion bidding exercise for five provincial airports under the Public Private Partnership program.
The PPP deal involved the operation, maintenance and development of the Bacolod-Silay, Iloilo, Davao, Laguindingan, and New Bohol air gateways.
Roberto Lim, the department’s undersecretary for aviation, said in a previous interview that he was hoping to relaunch the bid within 2016.
This PPP was considered among those most “ripe” for auction in the final months of the Aquino administration. However, the final bidding did not proceed due to its timing so close to the May 2016 polls.
The DOTr expects to maintain the original auction terms, including a bid premium parameter. Under this, a qualified company or consortium that offers the government the largest amount of money wins the project.