Puerto residents decry delay of airport project

PUERTO PRINCESA — Palawan residents are urging the government to speed up the modernization of the Puerto Princesa Airport to create more jobs and boost the economy of the province.

They expressed concern over the undue delay in the implementation of the project despite the seal of approval already given by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to the winning bidder, Sum Cheong Construction Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

Local officials and civic leaders here led by Melchor Prado, president of Palawan Visitors and Convention Bureau, are worried that further delay in the implementation of the airport project could stall the economic growth of Palawan and derail the Arroyo administration’s vision to transform it into a premier tourism site.

Prado asked why the financing institutions for the project — the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank — have yet to approved the project when the DOTC itself has already endorsed Sum Cheong Construction to undertake the job. A thorough study showed that Sum Cheong has the financial capability to implement it and is technically superior to the two other qualified bidders, Bilfinger + Berger AG of Germany and Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand.

The Arroyo administration has allotted at least P1.916 billion for the construction of at least 36 ports, five of which will be built in Roxas, Liminangcong, Mangingisda, Cuyo and Araceli — all in Palawan.

Prado said the implementation of the Puerto Princesa airport project, along with the construction of the five seaports, will create more jobs for Palaweños and rev up business activity and tourism in the province famed for its pristine beach resorts and wildlife sanctuaries.