Developer of city’s tallest building vows to remove equipment blocking air space by Monday
THE FTC Group of Companies, developer of the 33-floor Aeon Towers, has promised to remove at least part of the boom equipment on the building’s rooftop by Oct. 30 after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio issued an ultimatum and a threat to refuse the issuance of a permit to operate. The building’s construction manager, Engr. Boboy D. Espinola, told the city council on Tuesday that they will have the arms of the crane detached by Monday. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), which manages the international airport in the city, ordered the company a month ago to remove the equipment as it obstructs the air space for landing airplanes. CAAP Officer-in-Charge Hector Nabua said the building itself passed the height clearance but the boom equipment, with a height of 13 meters, has exceeded the limit. With the obstruction, CAAP has rearranged the runway assignment for landing, but Mr. Nabua said they could not sustain this as the wind direction is expected to change soon. “I ordered them to take down the crane within five days, excluding Saturday and Sunday,” Ms. Carpio said in an interview Tuesday. “They should follow what government wants them to do as the directive is not illegal or unlawful,” she said, adding that public safety is being compromised. “If you can’t take it down within five days you can never conduct business in Davao and that building will never open here,” she added. —