Tuesday, October 07, 2008 Dad pushes utilization of old Sasa airport By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE chair of the City Council committee on trade, commerce and industry revealed that several proposals were brought out during a meeting recently with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) to utilize the old Sasa airport.
In an interview with Councilor Peter Laviña Monday, he said that he will meet with the head of the Caap and the DCCCII next week in order to discuss what is most viable proposal for the old Sasa airport.
"Next Monday, we will discuss the proposals with the Caap head, Ramon Garcia. I understand that any proposal that will make the area viable will be accepted, whether it will be run by the government or by consortium, as long as meron income na magi-generate," Laviña said.
"There's a lot of proposals. There was a proposal to utilize the place and make it a BPO center, an aviation school, a cargo logistics and trade center," Laviña said.
He said the idea of utilizing the old Sasa airport came after the DCCCII presented a resolution to the City Council and to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to act on the matter, making the old Sasa airport as a cargo logistics and trade center.
"DCCCII presented the resolution during the Davao Business Conference on July 8. The same resolution was endorsed by the city council to the DOTC. But the DOTC endorsed the resolution to the Civil Aviation Authority because it is the one that handles airport operations," Laviña said.
He further said that there were around six to seven proposals for the utilization of the old Sasa airport.
Laviña, on the other hand, failed to reveal the total land area of the old Sasa airport. However, he said it is quite big involving a huge parking lot, the old airport terminal itself, and a passenger international building.
