The Regional Development Council (RDC) is stepping up its monitoring of the ongoing Tacloban Airport development project after the construction of the passenger terminal building incurred delays.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the RDC secretariat, said on Tuesday that the Regional Project Monitoring Committee and the Multi-Agency Core Group have scheduled regular visits to ensure the timely development of the airport.

Evangeline Paran, chief of the NEDA regional project monitoring and evaluation division, said the monitoring team will inspect the site on April 16, two months after the last visit on Feb. 20.

“The airport is a top priority project for monitoring. Everyone is eager to see the completion of this project,” Paran told the Philippine News Agency.

Based on the latest monitoring report, the first phase of the PHP761.91 million airport terminal building construction is just 73.39 percent complete after four years of civil works.

The project is up for completion on May 26, 2024, based on the revised timetable from the original May 31, 2022 schedule.

The insufficient construction materials prompted the contractor to reduce manpower last year, causing the delay, said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

Likewise contributing to the delay is the increase in daily planned accomplishments, according to CAAP, an attached agency of the Department of Transportation.

Also ongoing are the PHP334 million two phases of site acquisition activities of the Tacloban City government.

The national government has also set aside PHP500 million to construct airport facilities.

Another ongoing project is the PHP1.05 billion second phase of the passenger terminal building, which started on Jan. 26, 2024, and is up for completion after two years.

Phase 3 of the terminal building needs a funding requirement of PHP1 billion.

Paran said they are committed to monitoring the progress of the project, seen to be fully completed in 2028.

Aside from RDC members from the government and private sector, the core group tasked with monitoring the project is composed of the Department of Public Works and Highways, DOTr, CAAP, Tacloban City Government, Tingog Party List, and Office of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

The Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban is one of the country’s busiest, with 36 daily flights between Manila and Cebu.

The airport in the regional capital ranked as the country’s 7th busiest in 2022, with 1,489,803 inbound and outbound passengers.

Named after Daniel Z. Romualdez, former speaker of the House of Representatives, the airport serves as the main gateway from Manila and Cebu to Eastern Visayas. (PNA)