Photo Credit: abc.net.au

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — The two engineering districts in Bataan said on Friday that the right-of-way issues posed no big problem in the ongoing widening into six lanes of the four-lane Roman Highway.

District Engineers Erlindo Flores and Ulysses Llado admitted that they encountered problems but they are exerting all efforts to resolve so as not to delay the projects.

“Ninety-five percent of the people were already paid for the right-of-way. There are only few of them who have yet to be paid,” Flores said in an interview with the media.

He said there are resistance from some property owners in some portions in the towns of Samal and Hermosa who refused to be paid but said he was hopeful that it would be resolved in due time.

“There is no problem on right of way in the second district, only minor ones but being settled. If there is a need for advanced payment, we are doing it in order to avoid problem,” Llado said.

“The widening is continuously going on although we still have a long way to go,” he added.

Right of way expands to a total of 30 meters or 15 meters from the center of the road each to the left and the right.

To be widened are about 18 kilometers in the first district and 39 kilometers in the second district spanning from the town of Dinalupihan to Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Balanga City, Pilar, Orion, Limay and Mariveles.

Trees inside the right of way have to be cut or transferred by earth-balling. Land owners affected have to be paid based on the present market value.

The widening of the highway is in preparation to the proposed Manila Bay Bridge with a span of 24.4 kilometers that will connect the provinces of Bataan and Cavite aimed at lessening the monstrous traffic in Metro Manila.

Llado said he many foreign and local construction consultants have recently visited his office showing interest in the Bataan –Cavite Bridge across Manila Bay.

Source: ptvnews.ph

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Clark International Airport, Pampanga – AirAsia is now offering flights from Clark to Seoul, South Korea. The airline voted the World’s Best Low-Cost Carrier held its inaugural flight last January 19, 2019, from Clark International Airport to Incheon International Airport in Seoul with 100% passenger load.

AirAsia Philippines Director for Flight Operations Gomer B. Monreal said at the send-off ceremony held at the airport, “We are staying true to our commitment to provide the much needed international connectivity and convenience for travelers in Metro Manila, Central, and Northern Luzon.”

(2nd from left) Captain Gomer Monreal, Director for AirAsia Flight Operations and CIAC VP for Airport Operations and Maintenance Ret. Gen. Raul Del Rosario, AFP with Cabin Crew.


Aside from Clark, AirAsia also offers several flights daily to Korea from Manila, Cebu, and Kalibo while domestic flights from Clark include Cebu, Davao, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro.

“The future of aviation, travel, and tourism is taking shape in Clark. Now more than ever, Clark is truly saving us from air traffic congestion, and enabling airlines and travelers to enjoy the convenience of traveling. Today’s inaugural flight is a fantastic opportunity for Filipino travelers to explore and experience winter in Korea,” Monreal added.

(3rd from left) Captain Gomer Monreal, Director for AirAsia Flight Operations with Cabin Crew

AirAsia in the Philippines started with only two aircraft in 2012 when the airline began its commercial operation in Clark, Pampanga, and currently operates a fleet of 21 Airbus A320s from hubs in Manila, Cebu, Kalibo, and Clark.

Clark (CRK) – Seoul (Incheon/ICN) Flight Schedule:

Schedule of Flights from Clark to Seoul by Philippines AirAsia

The Clark-Seoul (Incheon Airport) flight leaves at 5:50 pm every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, while the flight back to Clark from Seoul (Incheon Airport) leaves at 11:25 pm every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Source: outoftownblog.com

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Photo Credit: firstgen.com.ph

MERALCO POWERGEN Corp. (MGen) will decide within the first half of the year if it will convert its planned 600-megawatt (MW) coal power plant in Subic, Zambales into a gas-fired facility, as the project hit delays in permitting and site stability, its top official said.

“We should be making a decision within the first half of this year regarding what to do next. But in the meantime, we’re saying let this rainy season pass by and see the stability of the site kasi (because) the stability of the site is another challenge,” Rogelio L. Singson, MGen president and chief executive officer, told reporters last week.

A unit of power distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), MGen is developing the plant, which has two units, each with an identical capacity of 300 MW. It will be under Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RP Energy), which it leads with a 47% stake, along with the Aboitiz group’s Therma Power, Inc. with 25%, and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp. with 25%.

When the plant developer announced the signing of construction and supply contracts in the fourth quarter of 2016, it had expected the power plant to go online by mid-2020 on Sitio Naglatore, Cawag, Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The construction contract was signed with Azul Torre Construction, Inc. while the supply contract was with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd.

Based on data from the Department of Energy (DoE) at that time, the project will cost P1.2 billion or around P50 billion. Meralco had planned to source 225 MW of its baseload requirements from RP Energy.

Mr. Singson said RP Energy remains without an approved power supply agreement (PSA) from the Energy Regulatory Commission.

“Unfortunately, the negotiations with the Korean EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor — Doosan — gave us a one-year extension, which ended in 2017 because the plant was supposed to have started 2016. But since we could not get a PSA, it was extended for another year — end of December,” he said.

“So by end of December, we had to talk to them again and they said: ‘we could no longer hold the prices’ — foreign exchange has changed significantly, interest rates have changed, and escalation prices and so on,” he added.

Mr. Singson said without a PSA, the company had no recourse but to hold off the project.

“We will now open our options not just with the Korean contractor but in fact, we’re now looking at other options. It might be new technology. It might no longer be CFB (circulating fluidized bed) because if I’m to be asked, I would only settle for ultra-supercritical [plant],” he said, referring to the plant’s efficiency that leads to lower emissions.

“Second, we’re also considering puwede ba (whether it’s possible to convert it to) LNG (liquified natural gas),” he said.

“We’re in that stage. So our shareholders — Aboitiz, us and [Taiwan Cogeneration] — are on hold position until we complete our technical assessment of what technology and when,” he said.

In the meantime, Mr. Singson said the company would assess the stability of the site, which he said remains to be valuable because it has an adjacent transmission connection, a ready environmental compliance certificate, and an approval from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Source: bworldonline.com

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SUBIC. The cruise ship World Dream docks for the third time this year at the Alava Wharf in the Subic Bay Freeport arrives on Wednesday, January 16. (Ric Sapnu)

THE Subic Bay Freeport expects to cement its reputation further as the newest cruise ship destination and top anchor tourist attraction in the country after six vessel have arrived here this month.

Subic welcomed for the third time this year the cruise ship World Dream, the flagship of the Chinese premium brand Dream Cruises owned by Genting Hong Kong that arrived here on Wednesday.

The ship is set to be back here on January 30 while another Subic regular, the Italian-flagged Costa Atlantica owned by Costa Crociere, has booked arrivals for January 15 and 29.

“Right now we’re experiencing a phenomenal influx of cruise ships, and this is really a strong start for Subic, which recorded 17 arrivals last year,” said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma, who was among those who welcomed World Dream at the Alava Wharf here.

“We are very happy that our cruise ship program is really picking up, and this is just the start. By next month we hope to see more cruise ships coming in and some of them would be staying here in Subic overnight,” she added.

Jem Camba, manager of SBMA Tourism Department, said an average of 3,000 tourists disembark in Subic from each visiting cruise ship and then go on tours of various attractions in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, Clark Freeport Zone, and the nearby provinces of Zambales and Bataan.

Among the favorite destinations of cruise ship passengers are the nature theme parks in Subic and historical places in Bataan and Pampanga, she said.

Last year, the Central Luzon Regional Development Council cited the SBMA for developing Subic into a premier cruise ship destination in the country and noted that cruise ship arrivals in Subic had generated more than P85 million worth of economic activity in the first eight months alone.

Chairman Eisma said she expects a better record this year because of Executive Order No. 72 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last December.

Calling it a “game-changer for Subic and Region III,” Eisma said EO 72 is expected to bring in more visitors because it eased the entry of foreign nationals via the Subic sea ports and extended them a visa-free stay of 14 days similar to those entering though the Subic airport.

“This arrangement is less complicated, and thus we foresee that the resulting ease of travel would make Subic Bay an even bigger tourist magnet and anchor destination in Central Luzon,” she added.

Eisma also said the new measure would encourage the development of more tourism establishments in nearby parts of Region 3, which could make use of Subic as anchor destination and gateway.

“The EO, as well as all the support measures we get from the national government, dovetails with our strategy to develop Subic into an anchor destination that will help catalyze inclusive growth in the region,” Eisma noted.

“Subic and its neighboring areas are now coming up with curated experiences that they can commonly sell to tourists, specifically cruise ship passengers, so this way they can complement each other’s’ strong points,” Eisma said.

Source: sunstar.com.ph

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Local officials of Masinloc town in Zambales have secured a loan for the construction of the municipality’s Sanitary Landfill and Water System Project.

According to Facebook post of the municipal government on Friday, Mayor Arsenia Lim led the signing of the contract with Landbank for the loan program.

Vice Mayor Dady Enciso and members of the Municipal Council witnessed the signing.

Department heads from the municipal government were present as well.

Early this month, Lim led the groundbreaking ceremony for the sanitary landfill project located at Km 10 Baloganon.

The landfill project will cost P60 million.

Source: centralluzon.politics.com.ph

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