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TWO
ranking officials of the
Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (Naia) were sacked last week by airport manager
Alfonso Cusi in the wake of reports of anomalous
practices connected with the renovation of Naia 3.
Lawyer
Oscar Paras, senior assistant general manager, and
Florencio Montalbo, assistant general manager for Naia 3
were accused of favoring consultants Ove Arup and TCGI
Engineering over Japanese contractor Takenaka whenever
there is disagreement among them in the repair of the
terminal.
Ove Arup
and TCGI were hired two years ago by the Naia to help it
study the structural and architectural defects of Naia 3
and what actions are necessary to solve the problems.
Both
said after their inspection that Naia 3 would need
extensive repairs, besides the collapsed ceilings,
adding that there are risks if an Intensity-6 earthquake
strikes Naia 3.
Takenaka,
an original subcontractor of the terminal, had
volunteered to correct the already known faults such as
the collapsed ceiling, but balked when it was asked to
repair other structural defects that the consultants
suggested need attention, which would cost millions of
dollars.
There
was an instance when Takenaka reportedly offered to
repair some of the damaged portion of Naia 3 for $50
million, which Paras and Montalbo opposed.
The duo,
whom the airport management accused of conspiracy,
reportedly favored TCGI, which offered $137 million to
repair the same damaged portion of the terminal.
The
accusation came after Cusi was told by an international
consultant that Takenaka’s offer, although lower in
amount, is the right price for the project.
Cusi was
reportedly angered by the reported connivance going on
behind his back, at a time when he was being pressured
by Malacañang to put the Naia 3 onstream as soon as
possible.
BusinessMirror tried to get in touch by cellular phone
with Paras and Montalbo without success.
It was
reported that Montalbo is out of the country while Paras
is reportedly in the province.
Angel
Atutubo, assistant general manager for security and
emergency services, has been temporarily assigned to
replace Paras. |
