BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Passengers queuing in the check-in and pre-departure areas of the Iloilo Airport endure humid conditions due to non-functioning air-conditioning systems. Escalators are also not working.
These recurring issues prompted Mayor Jerry Treñas to renew his call to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to hasten processes for the redevelopment or privatization of Iloilo Airport.
“It has become apparent that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) cannot take care of the airport. It needs to be privatized,” said Treñas.
Likewise, the mayor said he would meet with Luisa Palma, the airport manager, to discuss the persistent problems hounding the local airport.
“I am calling on CAAP to explain to me what happened to the funds,” the mayor said, referring to the P190 million that Sen. Grace Po allocated to the agency to repair the airport’s facilities last year.
Treñas, chair of the Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Western Visayas, has long been calling for the redevelopment or privatization of the Iloilo Airport.
Other local officials, too, push for the privatization of the airport to improve its facilities and services to accommodate the growing number of passengers and enhance the overall travel experience.
The airport is also projected to attract more airlines to operate in Iloilo, boosting tourism and economic development in the region.
Senator Poe, the Senate’s transportation committee chairperson, has assured CAAP of P190 million for the repair and maintenance of the airport facilities.
The bulk of the funds will be used for the expansion of the Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) amounting to P45 million; rehabilitation of the Flight Information Display System (FIDS) worth P30 million; purchase of two unit chillers with 600-watt Cooling Capacity with an estimated cost of P29.5 million; and rehabilitation of Private Automatic Branch Exchange (PABX) System worth P20.5 million.
Three giant conglomerates have signified their interest to undertake the project through the Public-Private Partnership (PPA).
As of March 22, 2024, the PPP Center website showed the unsolicited proposal of the Prime Asset Ventures Inc. Consortium is “under initial evaluation by implementing agency,” while there is no available data yet for Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. and Megaworld.
The rehabilitation-expansion-operation-maintenance project covers the expansion of capacity of the passenger terminal building (PTB), construction of an apron adjacent to the PTB extension, renovation/maintenance of the existing building, installation of required equipment for passenger services in the new PTB, and operation and maintenance of the PTB and equipment and facilities during the concession period.
After receiving complaints, Mayor Treñas said he relayed the issues to Secretary Bautista, who immediately called the airport manager.
Bautista said the Iloilo Airport’s three air-conditioning systems are working. Two of the air-conditioning systems are old but still working. The airport just bought a new chiller last year.
Due to extreme heat conditions, Bautista said the air-conditioning system might not be enough to cool down the entire airport facility.
Bautista admitted the airport’s escalator stopped working on Saturday.
“Our engineers are working on a temporary fix but the area center has already contacted a possible third-party repair and maintenance provider to fix this problem,” said Bautista.
The DOTr Secretary said they are closely monitoring the concerns of the Iloilo airport.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience. We will expedite the repair and implement the interim plans while we await the delivery of (air-condition units), the three more chillers, and the repair of the escalator,” said Bautista./PN
