TACLOBAN CITY – Works for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Daniel Z. Romualdez (DZR) Airport would start before 2005 ends.

Thus said City Administrator Jimmy “Jimjim” Yaokasin Jr. who told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the implementation of the more than P3 billion project is “already delayed”.

According to him, what appeared to be the problem for the eventual start of the project is the recollection of the families located into Sitio Alimasag, Brgy. San Jose.

Yaokasin claimed that while the city government has already identified the relocation site for the more than 300 families to be relocated, the job now falls on hands of the Department of Transportation and Communications through its attached agency, the Air Transportation Office.

“Our role is just to identify and provide the relocation site for the families that be affected. We have done our part,” Yaokasin told Express.

The city government had identified a private lot in Brgy. Payapay, also in San Jose, that is owned by relative of Mayor Alfredo “Bejo” Romualdez as the relocation site of the affected families.

But still the city administrator stressed that the multi-billion project would commence in the latter part of this year.

“Barring any problem, that is the projected time for it to start,” Yaokasin said, referring to the DZR modernization and rehabilitation project. He said that the bidding for the project was already done last year.

He, however, could not say as to the construction company that would undertake this multi-billion peso project except that the bidding was held in Manila.

The project, under its original plan, was supposed to be finished by 2007. But with the problems the project had encountered, its completion was reset to 2009.

Earlier, the modernization and rehabilitation of the DZR Airport was almost scuttled due to reports of diversion of more than P600 million fund by the national government intended for the project.

Yaokasin, however, told Express that the said amount was already returned.

The modernization and rehabilitation of the region’s premier airport is funded mainly by the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JIBC).

Mayor Romualdez had told Express that he is looking forward for the completion of the modernization and rehabilitation of the DZR airport, describing it as one of the priorities of his administration.

According to him, with a modern airport, the city could now be in a better position to invite investors to the city. He also claimed that it is not only Tacloban that would benefit from this project but the entire region.

“The airport would serve as our show window in attracting not only tourists but most especially the investors,” he said.