transportation

Airport changes deadline for expansion proposals

LA PRENSA

delayed: Officials at Tocumen International Airport have changed the deadline for bids to be submitted for the airport’s expansion for a second time. The latest deadline is Nov. 13.1100791

The closing date for receipt of bids for the proposed expansion of Tocumen International Airport has been postponed to Nov. 13.

This is the second time the closing date has been pushed back. The original deadline was Sept. 1, but the date was moved to Oct. 20 after airport officials became concerned that not enough companies were interested in bidding.

“It was better to move the date to ensure the participation of internationally-recognized companies,” said Orcila de Constable, general manager of Tocumen, S.A., which operates the facility.

The second delay was made at the request of companies interested in bidding on the project, with some saying they needed more time to prepare their bids.

De Constable said that, to date, 25 companies have expressed interest in bidding on the project, which calls for the expansion at the north end of the current terminal. They include Norberto Odebrecht, the company currently working on the Coastal Belt project, Panamanian company Corporación M&S, Colombian company Conalvías and two Spanish companies, Constructora San José and FCC Construcciones.

Once bids are submitted, they will have to undergo a technical review, said Tomás Sosa, manager of projects and maintenance at Tocumen. After the company is selected and the proper paperwork is completed, an order to proceed with the work would be issued between Jan. 15 and Jan. 30, “under the best case scenario,” Sosa said.

The work is estimated to take at least 15 months, meaning the new terminal, which will double the current capacity of the airport, would be operational between May and June 2010, if no delays are encountered.

Airport officials are still trying to determine how they will pay for the expansion, which will cost an estimated $52 million.

“We are studying the best way of financing the project,” said De Constable.