LEGAZPI CITY — Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade is expected to inaugurate on Friday the newly refurbished PHP43.9-million passenger terminal building of the domestic airport in Virac town in the island province of Catanduanes.
In an email message on Thursday, Eric Apolonio, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) media communication chief and spokesperson, said the renovation has turned the Virac Airport terminal building into a modern structure that could address the difficulties and discomfort experienced by passengers due to the confined spaces of the old terminal.
The project, completed last May 14, covered the expansion of the pre-departure area at the ground floor and the second-floor area to accommodate 300 passengers, instead of only 100 passengers, as well as the rehabilitation of the arrival area at the ground floor, he said.
Having a runway of 1.8-km., the airport is classified as Principal Class 2 or a major domestic airport.
Apolonio said the runway is currently undergoing expansion.
Two airplane carriers are servicing the Virac Airport — Cebu Pacific with daily Manila-Virac-Manila flights, and Philippine Airlines flying the Clark-Virac-Clark route every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
The rehabilitation of the terminal began in January 2016 and involved turning the old design of the passenger terminal building into a modern structure.
The project, whose initial completion date was on July 20, 2016, was suspended on May 23 that year, after additional retrofitting works were considered necessary to provide stability for the circa 1963 building.
It was suspended once again in December 2016 due to damages wrought by Typhoon Nina, resulting in an additional cost of PHP4.5 million to repair the passenger terminal building. (PNA)
