The newly-expanded Camiguin Airport will reopen to visitors on Monday (Oct. 25) after upgrades by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had been completed.
Located in Mambajao, Camiguin, an island off the coast of northern Mindanao, the gateway’s passenger terminal was expanded to accommodate 200 passengers at a time from the previous capacity of 66.
Other improvements included a fire station building, administration building, the construction and improvement of the CAAP Security and Intelligence Service building, the asphalt overlay of runway and various “rehabilitation works” in the passenger terminal.
“We all come here to celebrate not only the airport, but the beginning and the verse of a new economy, dictated by the rehabilitated airport, guided by the improved facilities on the road,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a message during the inauguration ceremonies on Friday (Oct. 22).
According to the DOTr, significant upgrades were made to the passenger terminal, which was enlarged to over 1,400 square meters from 642 sqm.
This will also allow the gateway to accommodate about 300,000 passengers per year.
The DOTr said future plans in the pipeline were the expansion of Camiguin Airport’s check-in and pre departure area, the provision of a control tower, and the improvement of vehicle parking.
It also planned to allot P25 million for a feasibility study on further expanding the airport and allowing the operations of larger jets. The study is being proposed for 2022, the DOTr said.
Other national government officials at the event were Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Martin B. Delgra III, Assistant Transport Secretary Steve Pastor, Transport Undersecretary Giovanni Z. Lopez, Office for Transportation Security head Raul L. Del Rosario and CAAP chief Danjun Lucas. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
