Gov’t assures timely completion of Bicol International Airport

DARAGA, Albay (PNA) — Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade has assured the expedited completion of state of the art Bicol International Airport (BIA) here, envisioned as the global gateway to Southern Luzon, particularly the Bicol Region, and parts of the Visayas.

Stalled intermittently in the past, BIA’s completion is now deemed urgent by the Duterte administration.

It is one of the first 10 big projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordinating Committee.

In a meeting of top DOTr officials recently, Tugade assured Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda that the government would soon award to the winning bidders the completion of the BIA runway, and re-bid the Passenger Terminal building.

The Albay congressman said the entire DOTr management team has assured Bicolanos the BIA will have modern facilities of international standards. Airport and railway mega projects During the same meeting, Tugade discussed the 14.7-billion BIA and the 1171-billion Southline of the NorthSouth Railway Project (NSRP).

Both giant transport infrastructures were originally proposed and pushed by Salceda when he was Albay governor and chairman of the Bicol Regional Development Council and the Luzon Regional Development Committee.

Aside from the BIA, Salceda said Tugade also assured him the long awaited NSRP Southline will push through as approved.

World-class airport He said the 1708-million allocation for BIA’s Project 2A which includes 17 buildings and land-side facilities will soon be awarded, while its Project 2B component, which covers the completion of its runway, apron, two-stub taxiway, and the Passenger Terminal Building costing 11.4 billion will be rebidded shortly based on existing terms of reference.

The BIA will have Passenger Boarding Bridges (PTB) or passage tubes, designed modularly to accommodate the addition of more tubes in the future.

Tugade has committed at least two tubes initially, worth 1105 million once the PTB commences construction.

‘Bicol Express’ According to Salceda, Tugade has also assured him the present DOTr management will shortly start work on the NSRP Southline to Legazpi where the previous administration had left off, particularly the publication of Instructions to Bidders.

Salceda supports the proposed transfer of NAIA to Clark, an option that will make BIA an even more attractive alternative gateway on account of its proximity, both by land and sea travel.

NSRP’s South Luzon Railways Line will also compliment the BIA set up.

Tourism, economic boost Albay is eyeing to lure five million tourists by 2025, US$1 billion in investments and 235,000 jobs in ten years, should the BIA hit its 2018 completion deadline.

These benefits are expected to spillover the entire Bicol Region.

As the only international gateway airport south of Manila, BIA’s timely completion augurs well for the tourism prospects of Albay, the Almasor (AlbayMasbate-Sorsogon) Tourism Alliance) and Bicolandia, Salceda stressed.