The old passenger terminal building of the General Santos City International Airport. (PNA GenSan file photo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The long-delayed expansion and rehabilitation of the city international airport’s passenger terminal building will finally be completed this August.
Edgardo Cueto, manager of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) here, said Thursday contractors of the PHP452-million project were fast-tracking the ongoing construction works to meet their target.
He said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) gave joint venture firms Vicente T. Lao Construction and C.B. Garay Philwide Builders Inc. additional time to complete the project, which was previously set last May.
“The construction works were ongoing and it was now due to be finished this August,” Cueto told reporters.
The official said the workers commissioned by the two firms continued working on the project amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
He said the suspension of domestic flights and the airport’s passenger operations in mid-March allowed the construction firms to work even faster.
In February, the DOTr gave the contractors until last May to finish the project, which was then about 70 percent complete.
The airport terminal building’s expansion, which started in June 2017, was part of the PHP959-million funding approved by the DOTr in 2015 for the upgrading and improvement of the city airport.
It was originally targeted for completion in June last year.
The project includes the expansion of the airport’s terminal building’s arrival and pre-departure area and the improvement of basic facilities; upgrading of water supply facilities; upgrading of navigational aids; and improvement of various support facilities, including its power plant.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said the city government has been continually monitoring the progress of all pending projects at the city airport.
He said they have also coordinated the delay with the city international airport development task force, which involves the DOTr, CAAP and the National Economic and Development Authority.
CAAP earlier said the delay was reportedly due to the late delivery of imported steel and pre-fabricated materials from China and problems with the manpower pool. (PNA)
