Gov’t allots P435M for night landing upgrades

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration is set to upgrade the night landing operations in eight airports across the country by bidding out P434.5 million worth of contracts for the supply of communications equipment as well as meteorological instruments and power supply system.

In an invitation to bid, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) urged interested parties to participate in the open and transparent bidding for the upgrading of night landing operations in various airports.

The DOTC and CAAP said the country’s air transportation is becoming one of the major means of transportation for passengers and cargoes as indicated in the increased frequency of flights from the different airports.

“This situation shows positive growth in the country’s economy; however congestion of arriving and departing aircraft in Manila’s premier airport is a dilemma of the air transport sector and needs to be addressed by the DOTC and CAAP,” the agencies stated in the invitation to bid.

To solve the congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the DOTC and CAAP agreed to upgrade the night landing operations of eight airports in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards & recommended practices (SARPs) of the United Nations.

The agencies intend to bid out contracts for the installation or upgrade of airfield lighting system as well as upgrade of communication and meteorological systems at the airports in Butuan, Cotabato, Dumaguete, Tuguegarao, Dipolog, Roxas, Ozamis, and Busuanga.

The government is spending P159.6 million to upgrade the tower communications equipment in the eight airports through the acquisition of 14 VHF transmitter systems, 14 VHF receiver systems, seven VHF transceiver systems, seven voice communication switch systems, seven air traffic control console, four air traffic light gun, and eight voice logging systems.

A pre-bid conference would be held on May 6 while the schedule of the opening of bids is on June 5.

The agencies are also bidding out a P16 million contract for the supply, delivery, installation, training of meteorological instruments for the airports in Dipolog, Roxas, Ozamis, and Busuanga. The opening of bids is scheduled on June 6.

Likewise, the DOTC and CAAP are also inviting interested bidders to bid for a P258.9 million contract to upgrade the power supply systems at the airports in Busuanga, Cotabato, Dipolog, Ozamis, and Roxas. The opening of bids is scheduled on June 7.

The Philippines through the CAAP passed the audit conducted by ICAO of the United Nations from Feb. 18 to Feb. 22 resulting in the lifting of the remaining significant security concerns.