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Saturday, September 20, 2003
New airport terminal 98% complete: CEO
By Aurea A. Gerundio
DAVAO -- The construction of the new Davao International Airport (DIA) is 98 percent complete, Engr. Arnold Doria of the City Engineer's Office (CEO) revealed Friday while inspecting the airport facilities.
He said that the beams have already been retrofitted for reinforcement. Doria further said that they have already done this to 145 fireproof beams made of carbon fiber.
Engr. Doria added that by the first week of October, leasers of spaces would already be allowed to occupy their slots. The scheduled inauguration is slated for December 1.
The City Engineer's Office revealed that the inspection was in connection with the issuance of a certificate of occupancy and operation. He said that the CEO scheduled a final inspection on Monday.
Make-over
Meanwhile, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) project control division head Rodolfo Laguna said there are at least 20 spaces for rent in the new building.
Compared to the old building, Laguna said the new facility has air-conditioned lounges, four passenger boarding bridges, check-in counters, and flight information display systems.
"Maraming bagong equipment dito compared doon sa dating building (There are a lot of new equipment compared to the old building). We have a new tower, a separate maintenance building, and we also have a fire crash and rescue building. Matatapos na rin ang (The) commissioning of the check-in counters (will also be finished) by the second week of November," he added.
Laguna said that the runway was also extended to three kilometers to accommodate bigger aircrafts.
He added that the new DIA has a total area of 204 hectares. The building alone occupies 2 hectares of the total lot, and is expected to accommodate 1.2 million passengers annually. The parking area, on the other hand, has a capacity for 608 vehicles.
Although the building has no designated smoking area yet, Laguna said the construction of one is already the task of the Air Transportation Office (ATO).
Regarding budget, Laguna revealed that 80 percent of the P4.9 billion fund for the DIA project has already been disbursed.
"The P4.9 billion budget already includes land acquisition, civil work, procurement of equipment and consultancy," he said.
Delay
Earlier, the business sector criticized the much-delayed opening of the new airport.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) city director Teololu Pasawa said that Davao City has missed a lot of business opportunities and foreign investments because of the uncertainties brought about by the airport's delayed opening.
He said a few prospective local as well as foreign investors have decided to adopt a "wait and see" attitude and are putting plans to do business in the city on hold due to the DIA uncertainties.
City Councilor Peter Laviņa, for his part, decried the continued trumpeting and announcement on the opening of the Davao International Airport (DIA).
Laviņa said the "charade" has been going on for almost two years, but there are "still no movements as to when it would actually open."
DOTC project control division head Rodolfo Laguna explained that the completion was delayed because aside from the repairs of the beams, DOTC also had problems with land acquisition.
"Sa may Mamay Road, kung makikita ninyo, sige pa rin ang trabaho diyan kasi bago lang natin nabili ang property. Meron ding mga additional works kaya na-delay ang completion ng construction (In Mamay Road, work is still ongoing because we only bought the property recently. There are also additional works, that's why the completion of the construction was delayed)," he said.
Laguna expressed optimism in the inauguration of the new DIA this December 1.
He reasoned that the new airport's construction was divided into packages. "Package one started in 1997. This included the airside civil works. Nasa (In) package 2, which started in year 2000, ang (were the) building works," Laguna explained.
(September 20, 2003 issue)
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