BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – Kalibo International Aiport in Kalibo, Aklan and the Iloilo Aiport in Cabatuan, Iloilo will get P950 million and P791 million, repectively, for their “capacity expansion and maximization,” said Iloilo City’s Sen. Franklin Drilon.
The airport upgrades worth a total of P1.7 billion are in line with the hosting of Iloilo City and Boracay Island of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit ministerial meetings in 2015.
Iloilo City will host the SME Ministerial Meeting from Sept. 21 to 25 and the Food Security Week from Sept. 28 to Oct. 6.
Boracay, on the other hand, will be the venue of the Senior Officials Meeting and Related Meetings from May 10 to 21 and the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting from May 23 to 24.
“Our improved airports will be a good boost to our international image when we host the APEC next year,” said Drilon.
Currently, the Iloilo Airport serves direct flights to and from Singapore and Hong Kong.
The Iloilo Airport complex consists of a single runway, various administrative and maintenance buildings, waste-sorting and water-treatment facilities, a power-generating station, a cargo terminal, and a main passenger terminal.
Its location on the Tomas Confesor Highway, a major highway traversing Panay Island, makes the airport accessible from all parts of Iloilo and Panay by road, while its proximity to the currently defunct Panay Railways network could potentially link the airport to the rest of Panay by rail.
Built in slightly over 30 months, Iloilo Airport is one of the largest airports to be constructed in the Philippines.
At its inauguration on June 13, 2007, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remarked that the airport was the most beautiful and modern in the country and called it a symbol of both political will and economic maturity.
The Iloilo Airport has one primary 2,500-meter runway 45 meters wide. It can support aircraft as large as the Airbus A321, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Boeing 757, Boeing 767 and Boeing 787.
Runway lights and an Instrument Landing System were installed, making the airport capable of supporting low-visibility and night landings under any weather condition.
Meanwhile, the Kalibo International Airport is the fastest growing airport in the Philippines in terms of passenger traffic with more than 50 percent growth in 2010, and the second fastest for seats offered for June 2014 over the corresponding month of the previous year (20 percent).
The airport is classified as an international airport by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) responsible for the operations of all airports in the country except major international airports.
Kalibo International Airport services international destinations such as Seoul-Incheon, Busan, Shanghai, Chengdu, Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. It offers more international destinations than domestic destinations.
“An efficient transport infrastructure is key to the fast flow of people and tourists, resources and money into countries as it provides access to local and international markets and trade,” said Drilon.
Budget for these rehabilitation projects will be taken from the 2015 proposed P13.3-billion appropriations for transport infrastructure fund under the DOTC.
The transportation department is projecting international passengers to hit 18 million in 2015.
It is targeting 21 million domestic passengers next year.
Other airports that will undergo upgrades are the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (P592 million), Clark Airport (P1.2 billion), Busuanga Airport (P1.02 billion), General Santos Airport (P959 million), Ozamis Airport (P695 million), Calbayog Airport (P678 million), and Camarines Sur Airport (P670 million).
The government will also provide about P3.5 billion for the development of the airports in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, Bicol, Bohol, and Iligan, according to Drilon.
Aiport developments will be completed before the APEC Summit./PN
