Bohol airport project starts

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Civil works on the New Bohol Airport in Panglao island is slated to commence this year with the wastewater treatment facility as the first package being the primary requirement of the project.

Governor Edgar Chatto confirmed that DOTC officials have been holding successive meetings on the update of the preparations, together with the local task force in Bohol.

Part of the preparations was the recent soil drilling conducted by the Manila-based Universal Testing Laboratory and Inspection (UTLI) to assess the capacity of the foundation of the project site.

Mandy Victorio of UTLI said they will submit samples of the rocks taken from the project site, at depth of up to five meters, for laboratory tests.

The DOTC is giving Victorio’s team 15 days to finish the soil drilling. This falls within the timeframe on the target to commence the construction of the New Bohol Airport within this year, as assured by President Benigno Aquino III in several visits to the province earlier, said Chatto.

Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II reported that the water treatment facility component of the New Bohol Airport was included in the discussion with Japanese officials during his recent visit to Japan.

Japanese experts, who designed the New Bohol Airport, required the sewer treatment facility, integrated into the first package to be accomplished in addition to stable water supply.

Chatto added that the implementation of a wastewater treatment facility is demand-driven and it is Panglao and Tagbilaran that were identified to be needing this the most.  (FREEMAN)