Thursday, February 14, 2008 Quest for airport retention bleak By Gil ALfredo B. Severino
THE quest for the Old Bacolod Airport to be retained apparently is a losing battle as news of Dr. Lucio Tan's fencing of the runway stirs discussion among the business and media circles.
As of press time last Sunday, Sun.Star Bacolod failed to reach Tan whether he is withdrawing support for the old airport or have other business plans for the area.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary, Leandro Mendoza however has a copy of a report submitted by DOTC Acting Assistant Secretary Daniel Dimagiba on the retention of the Bacolod old airport.
The report dated last January 5 stated among other things, that the Air Transport Office (ATO) has "no money", that the airport is "not safe" and is "not needed".
The report stressed the huge drain to the budget of ATO in maintaining the New Bacolod-Silay airport alone citing the ten times increase of electricity bills, among other expenses.
If Bacolod so desires to run, maintain and manage the Old Bacolod airport, it has to shell out an estimated P14 million monthly as cost for operations.
In the report, ATO recommends to the Department of Finance (DOF) to sell the portion of government lot where the old airport presently stands so it can recover the five billion peso investment of the new airport.
ATO insists as well the importance of safety. Ato says it will be too complex traffic wise to operate two airports. Both need sufficient personnel to operate both facilities and there is a probability of air confusion endangering 665,144 passengers.
ATO can handle the complexities of air traffic management but this would mean additional investment in modern equipment and additional manpower expertise.
The Bacolod-Silay Airport accommodates 6,922 aircraft and 665,144 passenger movements every year and can still spare more rooms for additional flights.
Therefore, there is no need for another second airport for Bacolod, the report said.
The report stood for commercial viability and urban development, citing, that the retention restricts certain areas of the City like noise pollution to nearby residents.
It further recommends the conversion of the old airport into industrial and commercial districts to further enhance economic activities of the City.
