SANGLEY POINT, Cavite — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is eyeing to operationalize the Sangley airport in seven days. However, it would not yet be able to accommodate passenger flights.
The operational dry run of the airport started on Tuesday and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the agency wants to conduct the dry run for seven days after which it would be fully operational.
“I will finish the dry run in seven days. After seven days, it must be operational as an ideal entity,” Tugade said in a press conference on Tuesday here after the DOTr inspected the airport’s facilities and conducted the dry run.
“Of course, kailangan inaugurate natin yan, pero gusto ko maging operational talaga (we need to inaugurate this but I want this to be operational) as a normal airport in seven days,” he added.
Sangley Airport PHOTO/ Daphne Galvez, INQUIRER.net
READ: LOOK: Operational dry run at Sangley Airport
Once operational, the airport could only accommodate cargo freight and general aviation operations.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Jim Sydiongco explained that the airport could not yet accommodate bigger aircraft at its structure, particularly the runway, is not yet finished.
Ultimately, the construction of the Sangley airport is expected to decongest the country’s busiest airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), Tugade said.
Last June, President Rodrigo Duterte said he wants the airport to be operational by November.
READ: Duterte wants Sangley Airport operational by November
The DOTr has committed to accomplish the deadline by ordering the 24/7 construction of the airport and getting additional manpower and equipment to fast-track the construction.
Last week, Tugade said the airport is already 95 percent finished with completed works include the asphalt overlay, clearing of the runway, reblocking of concrete pavement, installation of a drainage system and streetlights, landscaping and construction of the access road.
Once finished, he said that the airport could be accessed via ferry through the Manila Bay, or the Manila–Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), or other connecting roads being constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The agency is also looking into the possibility of deploying “water jeepneys” by December.