10 Firms To Bid For Misamis Airport Project

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mike Banos / 19 Aug) At least ten companies have signified their intention to participate in the bidding for the access road to the soon-to-be constructed Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental province in the southern Philippines.

Engineer Della P. Capicenio, manager of the Laguindingan Airport Development Project (LAPD), said the invitation to bid has already been published as mandated by law, and the evaluation and actual bidding set for the next 60 days.

Capicenio did not identify the 10 firms, but said the 4.3 kilometer access road's entry point will be the village of Poblacion in Laguindingan with its exit point in Kibaghot village, also in the same municipality.

"Since it is a national road, it will be a four-lane highway which shall form part of the airport complex and will be constructed and maintained by the Dept. of Transportation and Communication's Air Transportation Office (ATO)," Capicenio told the Zamboanga Journal.

The budget for the P188-million project is already part of the line item included by the DOTC for the duration of the construction phase of the LAPD from 2007-2010, she added.

"So far, President Arroyo has already released P530-million to the LAPD for this year," Capicenio said.

At present, the LAPD project office is focusing on land acquisition, specifically the administrative and judicial titling of lots which have already been acquired and still to be acquired under the project.

"We have already completed acquisition of 90% of the 265 has. needed for the project," Capicenio said. "The balance to be acquired consists mostly of lots belonging to Ayala Corporation."

Although they have asked Ayala Corp. to donate the additional 94 has. for the airport and 1.7 has for the access road to the government, the Ayala Board of Directors has reportedly expressed its preference to have the DOTC secure it by expropriation, Capicenio said.

The company has previously donated 88 hectares to the LAPD but the additional 96.7 has. of its property which covers Laguindingan and Alubijid municipalities are now needed after the total area for the LAPD was expanded from the previous 167 hectares.