The Department of Transportation and Communications is wooing big South Korean firms to take part in the project that will improve the air navigation system at the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas said the government was looking for companies that could supply the air navigation and weather equipment needed to compliment the Laguindingan airport’s state-of-the-art facilities.
The equipment supply deal will cost $13.29 million or about P556.9 million. The entire Laguindingan airport project is funded by a concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, which means only South Korean firms will be allowed to participate.
“Among those needed for the airport upgrade are the instrument landing system, a Doppler radar, a communications system, an automated weather observation system, electrical works for the air navigation system and aeronautical ground lighting system,” the DOTC said.
Once installed, the Laguindingan airport will be better equipped than Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Roxas said the airport structure at Laguindigan was already 90-percent finished. The structure was built by a consortium composed of South Korea-based firms Yooshin Engineering Corp., the Schema Konsult Inc. and the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd.
“Once opened, he said economic activity in this region would soar to new heights as the airport is envisioned to be a major trunkline air facility,” Roxas said.
“This will be a major trading and tourist hub,” he said. “Its operation would have a multiplier effect in the region, and this would mean more jobs for the people.”
The Laguindingan airport is designed to be the main airport of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities in northern Mindanao, a counterpart of the Davao International Airport in Southern Mindanao.