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April 26, 2006
Updates on Iloilo Airport
P6.187B int’l airport project 46% done
By: Gerome Dalipe IV
April 25, 2006
ILOILO City – The
P6.187-billion New Iloilo Airport Development Project (NIADP) being constructed at the boundaries of Cabatuan and Sta. Barbara
towns here is 46 percent finished in terms of Overall Physical Accomplishment, the Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC) reported.
The DOTC Project Management Office reported the project status as of March 2006 to Gov. Niel Tupas,
Provincial Administrator Manuel Mejorada and other Capitol executives in yesterday’s media visit at the construction site.
Aside
from DOTC, representatives from the Air Transportation Office (ATO), Taisei- Shimizu Joint Venture (TSJV), the airport contractor;
Japan Airport Consultants, Inc. (JAC) and Basic Technology & Management Corp. were also present to answer questions from
the media.
The Overall Physical Accomplishment includes civil works (construction of runway, earthworks, pavement works,
construction of perimeter road, apron, car park and perimeter road).
Other civil works were the construction of storm
water drainage, trapezoidal grouted, riprap canals and sewage system.
Construction or installation of power supply
system, standby generating system, telephone system, water supply system, and sewage treatment plant are ongoing.
In
the Airport Utilities, the over-all accomplishment is about 44 percent. These include water supply works (57 percent); electrical
supply works (37 percent); access road lighting (22 percent); road and car park lighting (22percent); standby generators (43
percent); sewage treatment plant (81 percent).
In the Building Works, the total accomplishment is 48 percent. This
included the passenger terminal building (48 percent); control tower and operation building (52 percent); administration building
(38 percent); maintenance building (36 percent); fire rescue station (45percent) central plant-mechanical station (42 percent);
central plant-electrical station (40 percent) and cargo terminal building (68 percent).
In the Air Navigation System,
the accomplishment is 24 percent that includes Air Navigation System (29 percent) and Airfield Lighting Works (19 percent).
The
new international airport aims to cater for the increasing number of air passenger and cargo traffic in Iloilo and its influence
areas to boost economic development of the Visayas regions, particularly Region VI covering the provinces of Antique, Aklan,
Iloilo, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental.
The existing Iloilo domestic airport is the fourth busiest in the country
in terms of passenger traffic next to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Davao
International Airport, but has been facing problems of obsolete facilities, operational limitations, limited expandability
due to existence of roads and rivers and urbanization around the airport.
Studies concluded that the existing airport
is no longer capable of accommodating future air traffic demand due to technical, environmental and economic limitations and
confirmed the urgent need to develop a new 188-hectare airport complex within the municipalities of Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan,
Iloilo.
Updates on Iloilo Airport
Petron's fuel farm to rise in
Iloilo Airport
By: Kerlyn G. Bautista | BusinessWorld
On going construction at the New Iloilo Airport of International
Standards
The country's
largest oil refiner Petron Corp. will put up its ninth fuel farm in the New Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo this year.
This
fuel farm will complement eight aviation fuel farms that Petron operates in airports in Laoag, Manila, Palawan, Mactan, Cagayan
de Oro, Zamboanga, Davao, and General Santos.
Ricky M. Fernando, aviation operations coordination officer of Petron,
refused to quote costs for the fuel farm but said that capital spend will "run into the millions of pesos."
Data from
the Transportation department show that development costs for a fuel farm in the New Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan and Sta. Barbara
areas in Iloilo will cost about P370 million.
Mr. Fernando told BusinessWorld that the Iloilo airport fuel farm will
provide JET A-1 fuel to aircraft of Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific Air, Air Philippines, Philippine Air Force, Philippine
National Police, commercial cargo handlers, and Iloilo politicians and elites.
A fuel farm is a facility established
particularly to supply JET A-1 fuel for the aviation industry.
JET A-1 fuel is a kerosene grade of fuel suitable for
most turbine-engine aircraft. Widely available outside the United States, JET A-1 fuel has a flash point above 38oC and a
freeze point maximum of -47oC.
Mr. Fernando expects the planned New Iloilo Airport fuel farm to be a profitable venture
for Petron since the company is expected to service 100% of the fuel needs of aircraft going to Iloilo. PAL used to maintain
a fuel farm in Iloilo until it closed the facility due to the advent of aircraft that can carry sufficient fuel for long-range
destinations.
The new Petron fuel farm will be constructed in an area measuring 1,420 square meters with a right-of-way
of 284 square meters. Capacity for the fuel farm was not disclosed.
"It is the policy of Petron to make fuel available
wherever it is needed," Mr. Fernando said, when asked why Petron decided to put up the aviation fuel facility in Iloilo.
"We
are trying to secure from ATO [Air Transportation Office] a Contract of Lease for Concession for the new Iloilo airport. Application
is still in the process. But if the contract is secured, ATO will turn over raw land and we will put up perimeter fence, lights,
pipes, tanks, parking space, drains for rainwater, driving way, office, filters," he added, noting that Petron will shoulder
all expenses related to the development of the fuel farm.
The Transportation department dispensed of the construction
of the fuel farm in New Iloilo Airport last year to save on development costs. It has a budget this year of P16 billion, an
amount that is already fully allocated for railways, ports and airport projects.
ATO, an agency of the Transportation
department, is expected to award a contract of lease to Petron this quarter, sources from within the agency said. Petron is
the sole company that proposed to put up the fuel farm in Iloilo at no cost to the government. Terms of reference for the
contract, including lease rates, are still under considerations of ATO officials.
Petron is a profitable company that
registered 77% increase in earnings to P6.04 billion for 2005. Last year's total sales revenues increased by 29.8% to P191.49
billion while operating expenses were controlled to P5.16 billion, only 3% higher than 2004 figures.
http://www.theguardianiloilo.ph/business1.php)
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2006.04.01
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Iloilo City is situated in the central Visayas region. Considered the jewel
of the Philippine south, it is a city rich in history and cultural heritage, which is reflected in its ancestral mansions,
old churches, artistically designed handicrafts, colorful festivals, unspoiled seaside communities with pristine beaches,
islands, and coastal towns in its outskirts. It is also known for its superb seafood cuisine and native delicacies.
Iloilo used to be called Irong-Irong-a name given by Bornean chief Datu Paliburong,
who bought the coastal shores from native chieftain Marikudo in the 13th century. Irong-Irong, meaning nose-like, refers to
the proboscis-like outline of the city center. When Juan Miguel de Legaspi arrived in 1566, he found existing thriving towns
and made Ogtong the capital. In 1667, it was moved to Iloilo, where the river mouth area was provided better protection against
raids by the Muslim, Dutch, and English pirates. Today, Iloilo City is not very different from other port towns of similar
size, but its image has recently been improved.
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