BRGY. BAGTIC, Silay City - Assistant Secretary Ricardo Tan of the Department of Transportation and Communication yesterday assured the people of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental he will oversee the construction of the New Bacolod (Silay) Airport Development Project until its completion in the first quarter of 2007.

Tan, who conducted an ocular inspection of the airport site yesterday together with DOTC project engineers, said the P4.37-billion airport of international standards is expected to be operational by the second quarter of next year.

We are now on our 17th month of implementation and construction work has already reached 29.04 percent as of end-December 2005, he said.

Tan said there is a slight delay in the schedule of a maximum of 15 days, but the contractor has prepared a revised catch-up program to overcome the delay and complete the project as scheduled, he said.

The airport, which has a total area of 187.02 hectares, is being constructed by Japanese contractor Takenaka Itochu Joint Venture and being funded by the Philippine government's 25th Yen Loan Package.

Now under construction is the 6,180-square meter terminal building, the two-kilometer runway, and the DOTC's Project Management Office and consultant's office.

The embarkment work in the parking area, which can accommodate at least 350 vehicles, is almost complete, Tan said.

With this new airport, he said, passengers can already avail of advanced airport facilities such as boarding bridges and modern baggage conveyors.

Technologically advanced control tower and state-of-the-art navigational equipment, conforming to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Board, will also be installed.

The 3.5-kilometer Silay-Guimbalaon diversion road, amounting to P68 million, is also almost complete.

For the access road going to the airport site, there are two proposed routes - the 4.8-kilometer McKinley Road and the 6.5-kilometer Guinhalaran Road.

Tan said that based on a study, the Guinhalaran Road is preferable because vehicles using this road will no longer pass by the three cemeteries that are located along the McKinley Road.

The Silay City government, he said, has already given instructions to proceed with the survey of the area as residents have already confirmed their intention to sell their lands.*NLG

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