GenSan now prides itself with world-class airport

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) – A world-class airport, that’s what we saw upon arrival here.

For one hour and 45 minutes aboard PAL’s A300, we the journalists from Manila accompanied by Judy Aguilar of DoT-OSEC finally reached General Santos Tambler International Airport, which was once a pasture land leased to Alcantara and Sons, Inc.

General Santos City was formerly under Region XI but now it is managed by Region XII under Tourism director Sohura Dimaampao.

It will be noted that the government through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) in 1993 has committed to construct a world-class international airport here with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The airport is primarily for cargo handling and have cold storage facilities that allow agri-exports in the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat.

General Santos International Airport had an initial 2,400-meter runway that can accommodate Airbus 300s. This can be expanded to 3,200 meters for Boeing 747s and larger aircraft.

It has a paved runway, taxiway, apron, a 6.7-kilometer access road, vehicular parking area, aircon passenger terminal building, cargo facilities, ancillary buildings, fueling system, all-support facilities, lighting and navigational aids and other airport operations and maintenance equipment.

The airport costs $50 million. At the standard 75 percent-25 percent project cost sharing, the national government committed $12.5 million and USAID the $37.5 million.

The project was completed in 1998 by Dillingham Construction International, Inc. and consultancy services was provided by the US-based Wadell Engineering Corporation, et al.

More world-class airports in the country are expected to be seen in the next five years to accommodate bigger air traffic as several major national airports are undergoing rehabilitation, particularly in Mindanao, to meet with international standards.

Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon said most of the airports that are being upgraded can be found in the destinations identified as hubs by the DoT because they are gateways that offer fast, efficient connections to and from the rest of the Philippines via land, air and sea and easy, convenient access to and from the different parts of the world.

Gordon said the emergence of more airports will make travel destinations classified under “spokes” from the hub and its existing tourist attractions easier because of its accessibility by air and land.

In Mindanao, six airports under the Third Airport Development Project headed by director Rodolfo Sanico are being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

These are the airports in Dipolog, Butuan, Pagadian, Cotabato, Sanga-Sanga and Puerto Princesa.

Dipolog is situated 0.5 kilometers northeast from the city center of Dipolog City, the capital of Zamboanga del Norte. According to PAGASA, the city area is situated in the Climatic Zone type IV, which implies that the rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.

Butuan, the capital of Agusan del Norte makes part of Region XII-Caraga. The existing concrete runway is 1,850 meters long. An extension to the full length of 2,700 meters has been requested by PAL and is reportedly under construction on the Runway 12 end.

Pagadian Airport is situated approximately six kilometers northeast of the center of Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur. Pagadian is in the Climatic Zone 14.

Cotabato Airport is located in the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat of the Province of Maguindanao. The principal immediate area served by the airport is Cotabato City which had a population of 146,779 in 1995 and is projected to grow to a population of about 199,000 by 2010.

Sanga-Sanga lies in the province of Tawi-Tawi, which includes a number of islands, which lie at the southernmost tip of the Philippines. These islands had a population of 250,718 in 1995 and are projected to increase to 305,755 by 2010.

Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan is opened for southwest monsoon and frequent cyclomatic storms.