By BOY RYAN ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan — Gov. Florencio Miraflores said the national government, through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), assured the full development of the Kalibo International Airport (KIA).
DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya vowed to speed up improvements in KIA to make it a premier gateway in the country, Miraflores said over Super Radyo Kalibo.
The governor was batting for the full-scale upgrade of the airport’s facilities.
Long-term improvements in KIA will address the increasing influx of visitors and air traffic and cargo demand, Miraflores said.
They will also allow the airport to accommodate more direct and chartered regional flights and to compete with other airports in Southeast Asia, he said.
In 2012, the DOTC awarded to IBC International Builders Corp. a P56.8-million contract for the Kalibo Airport Development Project: concretize the apron, expand the taxiway, overlay asphalt on the runway and construct a perimeter fence.
“But we want full-scale upgrade of KIA, not piecemeal expansion,” the governor stressed.
The airport caters to the most number of international flights in Western Visayas, owing to Aklan’s prime tourist destination, Boracay Island in Malay town.
Foreign travelers from Russia, Korea and Taiwan flocking to the airport were also growing in number.
The number of passengers using KIA rose by 32 percent to 1,832,168 in 2012 from 1,378,535 in 2011.
The Kalibo airport serves flights to South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, and local flights to Manila, Cebu City and Clark.
Aklan also has Caticlan airport near Boracay, which is being developed by San Miguel Corp. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
