DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 Jan) – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has opened for pre-qualification bidding the development, operation, and maintenance of six regional airports – four in the Visayas and two in Mindanao.
The airports in the Visayas are Bacolod-Silay International Airport, Iloilo International Airport, Tagbilaran Airport in Bohol and Puerto Princesa International Airport. In Mindanao: the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.
According to DOTr’s bid bulletin signed by Transportation Undersecretary Raoul C. Creencia, who chairs the pre-qualification, bids and awards committee, all previously pre-qualified bidders in the bundled projects are considered pre-qualified in the unbundled projects, provided that there are no changes in their legal, technical, and/or financial capacity.
It added that they are also exempted from purchasing the invitation documents.
“Fees for the invitation documents are waived for the consortium member/s of the previously pre-qualified bidders in whose name the receipt was issued,” it added.
But pre-qualified bidders are advised to submit updated versions of the expired documents.
Maria Lourdes Lim, regional director of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in the Davao Region, told reporters on Tuesday that some P40.57 billion will be needed for the development, operations and maintenance of the F. Bangoy International Airport, formerly known as Davao International Airport.
She said that the development of the Davao airport is part of the current undertaking of the Philippine government and is being supported by the Japan International Coordinating Agency (JICA), who offered technical assistance in coming with a comprehensive transport development plan that includes priority projects for transportation in the city.
Lim said that the list of priority projects will be completed in 14 months.
“The JICA will give technical assistance, so the output is the plan itself for infrastructure development plan of Davao City and also for capacity-building. Out of the study, they can produce infrastructure development plan, that’s the masterplan for infrastructure sector that will span the road transport, waste segregation, drainage masterplan including septage, disaster risk reduction and management, and water supply,” she said.
Lim emphasized the need to develop Davao City to support not only its local economic growth but also entire Mindanao.
“Davao City plays a very major role in terms of developing Mindanao. It’s the primary urban center. It has been mentioned in the Philippine Development Plan, Mindanao Special Development Framework, and even in the Davao Regional Framework Physical Plan that Metro Davao will play a crucial role as the primary urban center,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)