Iloilo int’l airport on track for 2007 opening Nestor P. Burgos Jr. Inquirer
November 14, 2006
ILOILO CITY -- Western Visayas' economy is expected get a big boost from the opening of the international airport in Iloilo in 2007.
The P8.759-billion airport straddling the towns of Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan, around 24 kilometers west of Iloilo City, will open to commercial flights starting April 15 next year, Senator Franklin Drilon said.
Drilon said all the structural and electrical works will be finished by the end of the year while the testing of lights and navigational facilities will be conducted in the first quarter of next year.
The contractor Taisei-Shimizu Joint Venture will formally turn over the facility to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) on March 17, 2007.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) provided the funds for the project through a special yen loan package.
Built on a 188-hectare area, the airport was designed to accommodate the increasing number of passengers and cargo traffic in Iloilo.
The current Iloilo City airport in Mandurriao District here is the fourth busiest in the country in terms of the number of passengers next to the Ninoy Aquino, the Mactan Cebu and the Davao international airports.
The new airport has state-of-the-art facilities, including a modern terminal, control tower buildings, and landing and navigation systems.
It will have a runway measuring 2,500 m x 45 m, a passenger terminal with 12,000 sq. m and a 1,281 sq. m-cargo terminal.
There are plans to convert the 54-hectare site of the existing airport into a commercial and light industry complex. The Department of Finance has valued the site at P1 billion.
After the opening of the new airport, the old site should be disposed to generate additional revenues for the government, Drilon said.
Another airport, worth P5.751 billion, will also open on July next year in Silay City in Negros Occidental.
The two projects are part of the construction and upgrading of infrastructure projects under the Western Visayas Medium Term Public Investment Program, with total investments reaching P46.053 billion.
Around P179 million in improvements and expansion of the airport in the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan, gateway to Boracay Island, will be completed on April 2008.
The other projects include the construction of road networks, flood control systems, energy and seaports.
Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano earlier said that the projects would help consolidate the position of the region in the international tourism market.
Visitors to central Philippines reached 4.23 million last year or 28 percent of the country's total regional travelers.
