Tugade confident Bicol Int'l Airport completed within the year

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has assured the public that construction works at the Bicol International Airport will be completed within the year.

In a statement on Friday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Tugade led the inspection of infrastructure projects in Bicol on May 13.

The first stop of the inspection, it said, is the Bicol International Airport (BIA), of which construction works are 24/7 since last year on Tugade’s directive.

The Transportation chief said the DOTr and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), under Director General Jim Sydiongco, will be pushing for the nonstop construction works at the airport to meet its target completion date within the year.

“Hangarin ko ho na matapos ang konstruksyon, at maging operational ang Bicol International Airport bago matapos ang taong ito,” Secretary Tugade said.

(It is my desire that the construction of the Bicol International Airport will be finished and operational before the end of the year.)

The Bicol International Airport, known as the “Most Scenic Gateway” of the country, is now at 82.22% overall progress rate after 13 years of delay, according to the DOTr.

Once operational, it is expected to serve a total of two million passengers every year.

Moreover, in terms of job generation, 755 jobs were created during the airport's construction phase while 1,100 more indirect jobs await locals once the airport becomes operational.

At present, the Package 2A of the airport, which covers the construction of landside facilities and other buildings, is 94.40% complete, and is targeted to be completed this month.

Meanwhile, Package 2B, covering the construction of the passenger terminal building and runway extension, as well as the construction of the taxiway, drainage, and other site development works, is 68.14% complete, and is slated to be completed by June this year.

In addition, ongoing works for the embankment, and construction of access road and slope protection is now at 52.50% and is being eyed for completion this coming October, thee DOTr said.

Tugade and officials of the DOTr also inspected the alignment and the future location of the depot station of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Bicol or the PNR South Long-Haul Project in Legazpi City, Albay.

The DOTr and the PNR eye the partial operations of the San Pablo, Candelaria, Lucena, and Pagbilao segments between the first and second quarter of next year.

Meanwhile, the full operation of the PNR Bicol Project is slated for the third quarter of 2025.

To recall, the DOTr signed a contract for the Project Management Consultant of the PNR Bicol in 2018.

Moreover, the basic detailed design for the Civil Works Package 1 - Banlic, Laguna to Daraga, Albay - is already finished, the DOTr said.

The DOTr and the PNR also target to publish within May and to award the Civil Works Contract Package 1 in the third quarter of this year.

Additionally, the on-site activities are ongoing for the PNR Bicol project, including a Land Parcellary Survey, and the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

“Inaasahan po natin na makapag-award po tayo ng unang contractor itong 3rd quarter ng 2021. Ongoing na rin po ang pag-aacquire natin ng mga lupa,” said DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan.

(We expect to award the first contractor this third quarter of 2021. Land acquisitions are still ongoing.)

About 560-kilometers long, the PNR Bicol railway line runs from Sucat, Parañaque in Metro Manila to Matnog in Sorsogon, and from Calamba to Batangas.

Once operational, PNR Bicol is expected to reduce travel time between Manila and Legazpi from 14 to 18 hours to just six hours with regular commuter trains and 4.5 hours with express trains.

Around 20,000 jobs will be generated during the construction phase of the rail project and is expected to generate 10,000 more local jobs once it becomes operational. --Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA News