The Surigao airport runway has been partially completed, with the gateway set to reopen flights to and from Manila before the year ends.
Rehabilitation of the runway was conducted following the heavy damage sustained by the airport when a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit in 2017 and temporarily limited airport operations.
The airport has been utilizing only more than one kilometer of its runway since the quake damaged a portion of the airstrip.
As of October 14, 2019, repair of the runway including the addition of 340 meters is complete, bringing the current runway length to 1.4 kilometers from the more than one kilometer previously, Department of Transportation assistant secretary for procurement and project implementation Giovanni Lopez reported.
The partial repair will allow Surigao Airport to resume direct flights to and from Manila. Additionally, flights from Surigao to Cebu can now operate without limitations on passenger load.
Following the completion of the 1,400-meter runway, contractors will now work on returning the runway to its previous full operational capability of 1,800 meters by the first quarter of 2020.
In August this year, Lopez and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines director general Jim Syndiongco led a site visit at the airport to ensure that contractors VT Lao and Pacific Concrete expedited repair works after they took over the rehabilitation project in February this year.