Firm given 240 days for P123-M Tacloban airport rehab

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has given a contractor 240 days to complete the P123.4-million rehabilitation of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, also known as the Tacloban airport, that was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda last November.

DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya has issued a notice to proceed to BM Marketing for the asphalt overlay of the runway and the construction of a turnaround pad at the Tacloban airport.

John Andrews, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), earlier received $300,000 worth of navigational instrument system from Honeywell International Inc. and Hughes Aerospace Corp., through its local representative DPS-SmartPath Navigational Systems Inc., for the devastated airport.

Andrews said the donated instrument flight rules (IFR) would make night landings of aircraft possible.

Hughes Aerospace president and chief executive officer Chris Baur said Honeywell and Hughes are partners in the global performance-based navigation movement.

“Working together we identified an opportunity to assist the Philippines, providing a reliable, all-weather solution that is safer and has greater capability than the VHF omnidirectional range instrument flight procedure it replaces,” Baur said.

“Our successful partnership with the Philippine government and airlines will play a major role in helping rebuild Leyte,” he added.

Aside from Tacloban, Andrews said satellite-based IFRs would also be installed in four more domestic airports, namely those in the cities of Dumaguete, Butuan, and Legazpi, and Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental.

IFRs comprise one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other being the visual flight rules.

During flight of aircraft under IFR, there are no visibility requirements, so flying through clouds – or other conditions where there is zero visibility outside the aircraft – is legal and safe.