P627M renovated Calbayog Airport inaugurated  

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Calbayog Airport's new passenger terminal building. Photo from the Department of Transportation.
  • The Department of Transportation and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines inaugurated the newly improved and modernized Calbayog Airport in Samar on May 5
  • The Calbayog Airport Development Project Phase 1 included a new passenger terminal building, a new apron and taxiway, a drainage system, and site development
  • Phase 2 involved runway widening, apron expansion, strip grade correction, slope correction, runway safety end area, vehicular parking area, and security fence
  • Once operational, Calbayog Airport will serve a total of 450 passengers, up from the previous 76, and to efficiently cater to jet aircraft operations

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) formally inaugurated on May 5 the newly improved and modernized Calbayog Airport in Samar.

The P627-million Calbayog Airport Development Project covered two phases, with Phase 1 featuring the construction of a new passenger terminal building (PTB), new apron and taxiway, new drainage system, and site development.

Phase 2, meanwhile, involved runway widening, apron expansion, strip grade correction, slope correction, runway safety end area, vehicular parking area, and security fence.

Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade, during the inauguration, also noted other improvements to the airport, such as the enhanced pre-departure area and restrooms.

Once operational, the Calbayog Airport, which complements Tacloban Airport, will be able to serve a total of 450 passengers, up from the previous 76 at its old PTB, and to efficiently cater to jet aircraft operations.

The airport project was funded through DOTr’s general appropriations from 2015 to 2017. In May 2017, DOTr started constructing the new PTB and developing the site.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas secretary Michael Lloyd Dino said the improved Calbayog Airport “will offer nothing short [of] comfort and efficiency to the traveling public, and surely, this will bring in more tourists and boost the economy of Calbayog, and the rest of the Samar province.”

CAAP director general Jim Sydiongco, meanwhile, announced that more infrastructure developments are in the offing.

“To support Samar’s growth, further construction projects at Calbayog Airport such as the construction of administration building, two-bay Crash Fire Rescue building with access road, and control tower are also expected to be completed by the end of the year,” Sydiongco said.

DOTr noted that realization of the project “will not only open doors for economic progress and trade, but it will also generate various jobs in the long run.” It said 1,500 jobs were provided during the construction phase of the project and over 300 more direct jobs will become available.

DOTr earlier said that from 2016 to April this year, a total of 121 airport projects have been completed, 114 projects are ongoing, and 75 are for procurement.