Whoever wins the P265-million Virac Airport Development Project will have to work at the site for only six hours a day in the next two years to finish the construction of a new control tower, extension of the existing runway, and three other work items.
According to the bid documents published by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in its website, bidding for the project will be held on July 25, 2025, with the winning contractor expected to complete all the works within 720 days.
As the airport’s operating hours are from 7 AM to 11 AM, the contractor will have to make do with the set working hours of 12 PM to 6 PM.
The new control tower will be built on a vacant area at the back of the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) station farther down the left of the existing passenger terminal.
The 35.7-meter-high tower consists of 10 levels, the topmost of which will be the Aircraft Control Tower (ATC) Cab accessible by an eight-person capacity elevator. The ATC will also control a total of 16 CCTV cameras to monitor runway activity and surrounding areas.
Construction of the tower will require 178,000 kilograms of steel bars, 811 cubic meters of concrete, 14,000 pieces of hollow blocks and another 12,000 kilograms of steel works.
Near the control tower will be located the power house with its 300-kVA silent-type emergency standby generating set and the cistern with pumphouse.
The edifice will have to be protected from the elements with 89 square meters of polystyrene insulation boards along with fiber insulation boards for moisture and thermal protection.
Based on the plans, the existing 45-meter-wide runway actually consists of 1,778 meters actually used by aircraft for landings and takeoff, plus 60 meters of Runway End Safety Area (RESA) near the national road and a 75-meter Stop Way at the western end.
Required at all airports, the RESA minimizes the risk of damage to aircraft in the event of overshoot, overrun or excursion from the runway while the stop way is an area beyond the runway which can be used for deceleration in the event of a rejected takeoff.
The DOTr project will result in a total runway length of 1,901 meters, plus 90 meters of RESA and 60 meters of Stop Way at the western end and the 60-meter RESA at the eastern end.
The runway extension itself will consist of six layers: a 4-inch thick asphalt overlay above a 30-centimeter thick concrete pavement, a 15-cm. thick cement-treated base, 30-cm. thick crushed aggregate base course, 30-cm. thick aggregate base course, and 30-cm. thick aggregate subbase course
Near the end of the runway will be built the trapezoidal turning pad of the same materials as the runway.
A perimeter fence will also be installed at the western end of the runway.
According to the plans, the DOTr has identified for site acquisition about 31,793 square meters for runway extension.
The development of the island’s airport is part of the department’s effort to improve connectivity outside Metro Manila, with most of the budget allocation of P12 billion going to big airports.
The extension of the runway is one of the priority infrastructure projects proposed by Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Manager Primo Eleda, along with the installation of the PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) lights along the runway to guide the pilots on their descent path during landing, even during night flights.