MCIA expansion Davide hopeful project can start soon

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the delay of the awarding of the new airport terminal, Governor Hilario Davide III is still hopeful that the project will be awarded next month.

“Wap-a ko kahibaw (the project’s timeline) but nakadawat ko’g notice sa meeting sa board, sa first week sa April. Hopefully, by then, nanay decision sa BAC (I’m not aware of the project’s timeline but I received a notice of the Board’s meeting in the first week of April. Hopefully, by then, the Bids and Awards Committee can already come up with a decision),” said Davide in an interview with reporters the other day.

Davide admitted that the protest launched by Filinvest Group has delayed the awarding.

“Nakalangan tungod sa protest sa Filinvest. The more ma-delay daghang magduda. The sooner ma-resolve ni, the better for us. We hope ma-resolve sa BAC ang issue (Filinvest’s protest has admittedly delayed the awarding. The more it will be delayed, the more people will get suspicious. The sooner this is resolved, the better for us). We hope BAC can resolve the issue),” he said.

Megawide Construction Corp and its partner, GMT Infrastructure Ltd., had won the P17.5-billion project but the awarding was stalled after Filinvest protested the results, assailing Megawide’s capability to undertake the project.

Davide said he hopes the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, if it decides to award during April’s meeting, would be “objective” in its decision.  (FREEMAN)