The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is ramping up the construction of the Tacloban airport to meet the March 2024 completion target.
Manuel Antonio Tamayo, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), on Tuesday acknowledged the slight delay was caused by plan revisions to the passenger terminal building’s roofing, arch finishes and access ramp.
As of 25 September 2023, the construction of the airport’s passenger terminal building was rated as 57.13 percent complete.
“We would like to assure the people of Tacloban that the DOTr and CAAP are moving fast to guarantee the completion of the airport as soon as possible,” Tamayo said.
According to Tamayo, the asphalt overlay and runway strip width correction with concrete sheet piles to improve the strip of the runway was bid out on 21 September this year. The project is expected to start by December 2023 with completion of the runway expected exactly a year after.
Meanwhile, under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), an additional funding of P500 million for the continuation of the strip width correction will be bid out in the fourth quarter this year or once the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) has been approved.
In order to extend the runway to 2.5 kilometers from 2.1 kilometers and cater to bigger aircraft such as the A330, an additional budget of P238 million under this year’s budget had been downloaded to the city government of Tacloban for land acquisition of an additional 8 hectares, according to DOTR aviation undersecretary Roberto Lim.
The acquisition is seen completed by December 2024.
The work plan for the airport’s PTB is up for approval, Tamayo said.
