Gov clarifies airport controversy Airport row
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GOVERNOR Edgar Chatto on Friday has clarified that the New Bohol Airport project in Panglao enjoys the full support of the President in tandem with the need to improve the city airport.
In his weekly radio program “Kita ug ang Gobernador,” Chatto made the clarification following some “reports” that the airport project in Panglao will no longer push through because it was deemed more logical and economical to simply improve the city airport.
He cited his private conversations with the President as well as the speeches of the President at Bohol Tropics and later in Trinidad town after the inauguration of the new town hall.
Chatto also said the President made good on his promise to help improve the city airport.
He said the following day, he got information that the President has ordered officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAC) to look into the air-conditioning problem in the city airport terminal.
The installation of new air-conditioning units would address the problem, he said.
He also said the President has prioritized the improvement of the airport terminal by increasing the passenger capacity of the building.
But the governor was mum on the date when the increase of the runway will be undertaken.
The current 1.7 kilometer runway has raised serious apprehensions on the safety of airplanes every time they land at the runway.
The plan is to increase the runway by 700 meters to meet the minimum requirement of 2.5 kilometers.
This has also prevented the city airport from accommodating additional flights because of airplane congestion.
With Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Air and Zest Air servicing the Tagbilaran-Manila-Tagbilaran routes with 2 to 3 flights daily, congestion is inevitable because the city airport can only accommodate 2 planes at a time.
This is the reason why airplanes have to spend some time in Mactan International Airport while waiting for the congestion to dissipate.
During his visit here, the President, together with Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas and Chatto went inside the airport terminal as they discussed on ways to improve its passenger handling capacity.
During his weekly radio program, the Governor also showed some documents that listed the technical limitations of the city airport.
Fog over the airport
There seems to be a heavy fog looming over the proposed New Bohol Airport. This P8.4-billion project may never take-off for sometime.
Governor Chatto and Congressman Aumentado have expressed disappointment when President Aquino failed to mention his pet program, the Private-Public Partnership (PPP), during his second SONA on July 25, 2011.
Ten (10) PPP infrastructure projects, including the New Bohol Airport, are supposedly lined up for bidding this year.
Fear of failure on over-promised project is a legitimate concern exacerbated by the President’s pronouncement during his first official visit to Bohol that “he has ordered a thorough study of the existing Tagbilaran airport to ascertain that the need for a new
airport rather than just the rehabilitation of the existing facility, is actually justified.” He just wants to know if the existing facilities can be rehabilitated and expanded by using existing funds —
P1-billion from General Appropriations (GA) and another P1.2-billion from the 2012 GA, instead of funding the New Bohol Airport through Private-Public Partnership program.
There is now ongoing studies by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Philippine government to be completed in October.
But what has happened to the feasibility study prepared by a Manila based company (TCGI Engineers). It was reported that the feasibility study for the establishment of the new airport (renamed New Bohol
Airport) was completed in 2000 and was further updated under an advanced engineering study undertaken in 2001 with the final report in October, 2007.
In that feasibility study, the existing condition of Tagbilaran airport facilities was also reported as a matter of justification for its relocation
to a new site.
Here’s the excerpt from that feasibility study:
———
Present Condition: (Tagbilaran Airport Facilities)
The present facilities at Tagbilaran Airport, suffer from physical inadequacies characterized by:
a) inadequate separation distance between airfield
obstacles and the runway (insufficient runway
strip);
b) insufficient apron space to accommodate wide- bodied aircraft and allow for efficient
maneuvering;
c) absence of precision approach system for
improve operational reliability fit for an
international airport;
d) inadequate pavement strength for large aircraft;
e) inadequate terminal building facilities
resulting in congestion and passenger discomfort
during the peak-hour; and
f) absence of cargo terminal building and related
facilities, among others.
The difficulty in addressing the above issues at the present site, without incurring a huge investment and dislocation cost, is the compelling reason for developing a new airport elsewhere.
———
By looking at the above listed deficiencies, it appears that the study deals only within the existing airport perimeters. It does not include the nearby Maribojoc mountain peak, weather, runway orientation with the prevailing winds, absence of or inadequate runway
protection zone (RPZ) at the end of runway threshold, drainage, noise impact on residential neighborhood, air traffic safety problems during landings and take-offs, and others that may adversely affect the health
and welfare of the people in the community.
According to PPP Center director Al Vitangcol III, all nine projects, including the New Bohol Airport, are lined up for bidding this year, mostly in December. He said that the PPP would likely start inviting bidders
for the New Bohol Airport in October. But he also said it (New Bohol Airport) is now in the feasibility study phase. Is there another study disregarding the previous
feasibility study (Final Report – October 2007)?
Mr. Vitangcol admittedly said that they are lacking technical skills in certain types of expertise in accomplishing the feasibility studies so that they have to hire an international consultant to finish the job for them.
Accredit consultants work independently. A feasibility study for a new airport takes time. It takes years to prepare a feasibility study for a new airport.
President Aquino must have a reason why he intentionally skipped in his State-of-the-Nation-Address his much-vaunted pet program, the Public-Private Partnership. He must have sensed that this program does not have the speed that he wanted it to have. So that the lukewarm attitude of foreign investors to participate in the bidding of PPP projects
of the administration may have caused him some concerns over the future of his vaunted program.
During his official visit to Bohol, provincial officials were stunned to hear from the President when he said that “he has ordered a thorough study of the existing Tagbilaran airport to ascertain that the need for a new airport rather than just the rehabilitation of the existing facility, is actually justified,”
using the general appropriation (GA) funds. This change of plans may have something to do with the uncertainty of his PPP program.
Mar Dumadag
Stockton, CA
Hometown – Calape