Preparations for site of new Bohol airport project in Panglao underway

TAGBILARAN CITY , Philippines   â€” Pre-bidding activities were finally started in preparations for the implementation of the New Bohol Airport project in Panglao island.

First district Rep. Rene Relampagos brought home this information from the Department of Budget and Management that the processing of documents has started for the project, which has a total budget of P7.2 million, the release of which would be spread out from 2013 to 2017.

The DBM already issued a forward obligational authority wherein the national government allocated P7.2 billion for the implementation of the project within four years: P837 million (set for release this year); around P3.2 billion (in 2014); around P1.4 billion (in 2015); P1.050 billion (in 2016); and the remaining P59 million (in 2017), said the congressman.

The project will be funded through an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan scheme, called Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

In the sharing scheme, 81 percent of the total requirement will be funded through the loan and 19 percent will be funded by the Philippine government as equity or local counterpart, Relampagos explained, adding that the Japan and Philippine governments have already signed the loan agreement as reported by Governor Edgar Chatto.

At present, the DOTC is undertaking pre-bidding activities and had scheduled the bidding for the perimeter fencing and land clearing. The “project proper” is set for bidding by the last quarter this year, he said.

Phase 1 comprises the 2-kilometer runway which includes the landing and navigational facilities designed to accommodate night flights, then the terminal. After this, work on the final requirements for Phase 2 will be undertaken, covering the extension of the runway of another 500 meters to make it a total of 2.5-km span.

On the Tagbilaran Airport, Relampagos said there is no serious discussion yet on the eventual plans for the area that would be vacated the moment the airport operations would be relocated to Panglao.

Relampagos said the leadership of the province would attend to it in consultation with the new leadership of the city and other stakeholders then. “That is the reason why it is important that the leadership in the city should be in harmony with the provincial leaders,” he added.  (FREEMAN)