$82.9M Puerto Princesa airport project awarded to Korean JV

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PPThe Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has awarded a US$82.9-million design-and-build contract for the Puerto Princesa airport in Palawan, Philippines to Korea’s Kumho Industrial Co. Ltd.-GS Engineering & Construction Joint Venture (Kumho-GS).

The DOTC expects the airport to be fully operational by first quarter of 2017.

In compliance with its Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract, Kumho-GS will begin with the design component by the third quarter of this year.  While the joint venture is preparing the airport’s detailed engineering design, it will likewise begin mobilizing its equipment and securing various project permits.

Civil works at the existing site, or the build component, will begin in the fourth quarter of 2014.  The project scope includes construction of a new passenger terminal building, cargo terminal building, apron, connecting taxiways, a new air navigation system, and other support facilities.

Once the project is complete, the airport will have an annual capacity of about 2 million passengers.  In 2013, the facility welcomed 1.335 million passengers, way beyond the passenger terminal building’s current estimated capacity of only 350,000 passengers per annum.

“Apart from boosting our tourism sector, this project will also generate jobs, particularly in the infrastructure sector.  Overall, the estimate is up to 1,400 total new jobs during construction alone,” Transport Secretary Joseph Abaya said.

The project is largely funded through a Korean Export Import Bank (KEXIM) loan worth $71.612 million.  The loan is payable in 40 years, inclusive of a ten-and-a-half-year grace period, at a concessional interest rate of 0.1% per annum.

As a tied official development assistance loan, the bidding process was governed by the Guidelines for Procurement of Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, and decisions were concurred with by KEXIM.  Bidding for the project was also limited to South Korean firms.

Earlier this year, the DOTC awarded the contract for another major international airport, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, under the Aquino administration’s Public-Private Partnership program.

Photo from www.puertoprincesa.ph/photogallery/airport