After 4 years, toilet project remains unfinished at Zamboanga airport

MANILA, Philippines – For 4 years, an unfinished toilet project has become an eyesore at the Zamboanga International Airport, the third busiest airport in Mindanao, aviation authorities said.

Serving an average of 900,000 passengers every year as the main gateway of Zamboanga City, the airport’s departure area is currently set up with plywood walls occupying a large portion of it to conceal the unfinished project of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) under its “Kayo ang Boss Ko” (KBK) program.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in a press statement that according to airport area manager Mohammad Naga Rascal, the project is causing inconvenience to airport passengers, especially since it remains unfinished despite having been in the works for 4 years.

Rascal added that while the CAAP manages the airport, it cannot act on the project because it is an undertaking of the transportation department.

The KBK toilet project, launched in 2012, aimed to provide comfortable and clean toilets for the DOTC’s attached agencies nationwide. To reduce project costs, the DOTC entered into separate contracts for the civil works and supply of goods, allowing more suppliers to be part of the procurement process.

The Commission on Audit (COA) later criticized the DOTC for its complicated procurement process, which it said was “disadvantageous” to government because it led to failed biddings and delays in the implementation.

“The government may be left with unfinished/uncompleted toilet projects as a result of terminated contracts which could not be used by the intended beneficiaries and ultimately cause wastage of government funds,” COA said in a January 2016 report. – Rappler.com