WORLD NEWS
Oman’ s Duqm Airport construction works are progressing as planned, Dr Mohammed bin Nasser al-Za ' abi, chief executive officer of Public Authority for Civil Aviation( PACA), informed, with the third package for the airport presently underway. Indian construction giant Larsen and Toubro( L & T) was awarded a USD94-million contract to develop Package 3 in 2014. The package comprises a new passenger terminal and an air traffic control( ATC) tower, in addition to other facilities. To date, up to 32 experiments have been conducted at the new passenger terminal to ensure the readiness of the airport’ s facilities, as well as its aircraft tubes, and state news agency ONA reported that the airport will“ start operation this year”. Readiness experiments are being conducted under the supervision of the sultanate’ s Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The third package for Oman’ s Duqm Airport is presently underway.
Currently, four domestic flights are operated between Muscat International Airport and Duqm Airport each week, and this may be increased to five to meet consumer demand, Al-Za ' abi said in February 2017.
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The Philippine government will break ground for 34 or almost half of the 75‘ flagship’ infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration’ s ambitious‘ Build, Build, Build’ programme, state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority has stated. In a forum, Neda undersecretary Rolando G. Tungpalan said one project already broke ground before 2017, while 15 were rolled out last year. Next year, 10 flagship projects will be launched, on top of four planned for rollout in 2020. The ground-breaking schedules for 11 projects were yet to be determined. As of the start of 2018, 66 of the 75 flagship projects were estimated to cost a total of P2.289-trillion, Tungpalan said. Among the big-ticket projects to be rolled out this year are 12 bridges that will cross the Pasig River, Marikina River, and the Manggahan Floodway. The bridges to be constructed by the Department of Public Works and Highways( DPWH) this year until 2022 will“ improve road transport network capacity and efficiency in Metro Manila” and alleviate traffic congestion, he said. The DPWH will also roll out the P4.86-billion Panguil Bay Bridge Project that will connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte, for completion in 2021. The Department of Transportation( DOTr), meanwhile, will implement the P35.26-billion, 102km Mindanao Rail Project( Phase 1) that will connect Tagum, Davao City, and Digos in Region 11. It is eyed for completion by 2022. The DOTr will also start work this year on the P211.43- billion Philippine National Railway North 2 Project, the 69.5km extension of the PNR North 1 from Malolos,
Bulacan, to Clark International Airport and the sprawling Clark Green City, eyed for completion in 2024. Also for rollout in 2018, is the DOTr’ s P175.3-billion PNR South Long-Haul Project, a 639km rail consisting of the following lines: 406km Los Baños to Legazpi; 117km Legazpi to Matnog; 58km Calamba to Batangas; and 58km Manila to Los Baños. Tungpalan said the PNR South Long-Haul railway would be financed by China. Next year, the DOTr will begin implementation of the P355.59-billion Metro Manila Subway Project( Phase 1), a 25.3km underground rail that will connect Quezon City and Taguig City and extend to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The subway, to be financed by Japan, would be completed by 2027, Tungpalan said. Under‘ Build, Build, Build’, the government plans to roll out 75 flagship‘ game-changing’ projects. The government intends to spend up to P9-trillion on hard and modern infrastructure until 2022 to usher in‘ the golden age of infrastructure’ after years of neglect.
The road infrastructure projects are set to improve road transport network capacity and efficiency in Metro Manila and alleviate traffic congestion. www. global-geography. org
CEC March 2018- 11