New Bohol Airport project changes from PPP to ODA

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Skirting the long process of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), the DOTC has changed the modality of the New Bohol Airport project to Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as the potential funder.

The ODA, most probably the JICA, will be the source of the main component of the project. While the land levelling or site preparation would be ongoing, the project implementers would be processing the requirements for ODA.

The environmental group from JICA is scheduled to visit the project site in Panglao this week, while the DOTC team has also set its own schedule of their next visit to the project site in Panglao.

Governor Edgar Chatto announced the good news as he learned that the teams from JICA and DOTC, and other teams involved will finalize with the local airport task group to update the tasking timetable, prepare the remaining activities to be finalized and the physical aspect of the project itself.

Chatto and his team had discussed the update on the New Bohol Airport with DOTC Undersecretary Timmy Limcaoco in a meeting at the latter’s office in Manila the day after President Aquino made the first official assurance to have the New Bohol Airport implemented before his term ends in 2016.     

Even before Aquino’s official pronouncement in his SONA, some technical people from JICA and DOTC already got the president’s support and approval on the project, following the economic cluster meeting at Malacañang.

With the new set up as an ODA project, the government targets to start the site preparation for the runway and construction of fence around the project site before the year ends. Then by next year, the actual civil works on the other facilities will start.

Chatto said the engineers will also undertake the corrective measures on the sinkholes that had been earlier discovered at the site.

DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas has also been on top of the major planning aspect, while Budget Secretary Butch Abad also helped in following through the project.

Top national officials have showed Chatto and 1st district Rep. Rene Relampagos that the government is serious in pushing for the new Bohol Airport in Panglao by directing the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee’s technical working group to fast track its implementation.

Panglao Vice Mayor Evangeline Lazaro, for her part, said everybody has been waiting for the project to get done, “especially the tourism sector which had been excited to see it rise, as the modern airport will encourage more tourists to come.”

Lazaro said that having the modern airport in Panglao can help the tourism industry a lot because there would be direct flights to Panglao by then. - THE FREEMAN