Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Tacloban Area Manager Antonio B. Alfonso said the agency has already asked contractors to work overtime at the airport, the main gateway in the Eastern Visayas Region.
“The clamor is to restore airport operation, hence, we are pressuring contractor to do more than his legal obligation. We are working beyond working hours just to rush this project. We have to take advantage of the good weather. This should be done before we approach the peak season due to opening of a new school year,” the CAAP official said.
The airport, which currently accepts only for propeller-driven aircraft, has been closed to jets since April 14 to resurface a 338-meter portion of the 2,138-meter runway damaged by super typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.
As of Monday, about 50 meters have been repaved.
B.M. Marketing, the contractor, failed to meet the deadline because of the production hurdles encountered by suppliers of construction materials.
A cement mixing plant in Ormoc City slowed down production while another plant in Palo, Leyte stopped operation, according to Mr. Alfonso.
One company opened a new batching plant last weekend in Burauen, Leyte to ensure stable asphalt overlay supply, but night operation had to be stopped following complaints from nearby residents.
“We have to talk to local government officials so they could explain to residents that this plant has to operate day and night until the runway repair is completed,” Mr. Alfonso said.
Meanwhile, Jack Uy, president of the Tacloban Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed frustration over the airport’s extended restriction saying the rehabilitation should have completed a year ago.
“The deadline should have been May 10, 2014 and not May 10, 2015. Imagine the economic losses incurred by this airport problem since last year, not to mention the exorbitant airfares” said Mr. Uy, whose family owns a retail shop, hotel, and restaurants.
He pointed out that vital cargo such as medicine and fresh food supply, which are brought in by air, have also been affected.
Under regular operation, Tacloban-bound aircraft carry an average of 13,500 kilograms of cargo daily.
“The DoTC (Department of Transportation and Communications) and CAAP should impose sanctions on the contractor for their incapacity to complete the project on time,” Mr. Uy suggested.
However, the businessman acknowledged that the contractor is still within the commissioned 120-day working period that took effect February 3.
“The (earlier) deadline is not legally bound, but just an internal arrangement between DoTC-CAAP and the contractor,” Mr. Uy added.
In a recent dialogue with Tacloban City council members, Edgar A. Tiu, general manager of B.M. Marketing, explained that an extension of the deadline is always probable considering the weather in the province.
“An hour of rainfall would mean two days delay. We need enough time to make the surface dry before putting new pavement,” Mr. Tiu told the council.
The airport runway incurred potholes after being submerged in seawater following the typhoon and its condition worsened as it had to be frequently used by large aircraft during the post-Haiyan rehabilitation period.
The government implemented a massive runway repair during the last quarter of 2014, but work was temporarily stopped to accommodate the influx of passengers for the December holidays and Pope Francis’ visit early this year.
The Tacloban Airport, also known by its TAC three-letter code, normally handles 14 flights daily from Manila or Cebu, 12 of which are Airbus jets while two are turbo-prop planes.
With current restrictions, airlines have switched to the smaller planes with a capacity of about 70 passengers. Cebu Pacific Air operates four flights from Cebu. Philippine Airlines, meanwhile, operates three flights from Manila and one from Cebu.
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