For this issue, we return to the Tacloban Airport Development Project which was started in 2020, but is now still a work in progress, after a delay of two years. There are several realizations at this point.
One is that many agencies are involved. It is a multi-agency project with each agency involved having its own organizational structure. The Regional Development Council has become a central point of coordination.
The RDC’s Regional Project Monitoring Committee is tasked with knowing how key projects are proceeding and whether problems need resolution. But this committee does not have the power to impose penalties. It can only point out deficiencies. The implementing agency is still tasked to enforce corrective measures like increasing the manpower at the site or inspecting accomplishments properly before payment.
What is surprising about this project’s complexity is that it arises from the project having three phases being implemented at the same time. Usually, when one says a project has three phases, that means that it is programmed over a period of years and the funding is also released over that time or in phases.
This fact of overlapping phase-by-phase implementation indicates an inability to follow planned schedules. Components of the project are not finished on time and also not started on time.
In the Tacloban Airport Development Project, all three phases are in different stages of implementation. This fact indicates a delay. Phase I which is the main structure including the ramp to the second floor or the departure area, is in its last 10 percent of the work. This Phase is delayed even if it has undergone three variation orders which moved part of its work program to the second phase, which contains the equipment to be installed, thereby reducing the delay but with an increased construction cost. That is a complex sentence that aligns with the complexity of the project.
Phase II is ahead of schedule. Phase III is expected to be behind schedule and could be delayed by a year because the bidding process is not yet complete.
Another factor that adds to the complexity is the involvement of many implementing agencies, CAAP, DOTr, DPWH, DENR, the Philippine Reclamation Authority, and the City Government of Tacloban. The RPMC provides a forum for coordination, although it is focused only on problems so that facilitation is enhanced and coordination both technical and in terms of the time of implementation, is done smoothly. Otherwise, there can be confusion and work may have to be undone or repaired which nasturally causes a waste of time, energy, and funds.
Phase III has the biggest budget of the three phases: 1.5 billion pesos. DPWH will implement this phase which pertains to the facade of the Terminal Building and other structures and facilities outside the Terminal Building.
Funds for this phase were released in the first quarter of this year but the components of this Phase have not been awarded to any contractor. This could mean a delay in implementation by at least a year, since it is now October. If this happens the Tacloban Airport Development Program will not result in a functional New Terminal Building in 2026 as announced by the President. At least a one-year delay in the project can be expected which will result in a loss of foregone income by 5 billion pesos a year. Now, the project is already delayed by two years.
Is the project a confusion of phases and overlapping schedules? Is there a significant challenge to effective and efficient coordination? The answer is: yes!
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