ILOILO City – “It would be good.”
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) officer-in-charge Arecio A. Casing Jr. said the proposed expansion of the Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme is a good move.
“We’ve all known that Cebu province is the entry point for international flights in Visayas and Mindanao, other than Luzon in Manila [Ninoy Aquino International Airport]. So, it would be good if we had that here in Iloilo,” Casing said in an exclusive interview with Panay News.
He cited Mactan-Cebu International Airport, saying: “It is being run by the private sector, so you’ve seen the type of improvements they were able to give the international and domestic. So, you will see the difference between the privatized airport and the one run by the government. I think that’s the incentive that we are perhaps looking for.”
Casing also mentioned the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, also known as Caticlan Airport in Aklan, which caters to international flights and recently began having flights to and from Taipei, Taiwan.
For the NEDA-6 director, if Ilonggos also wish to experience improved airport facilities, it is just fitting to undergo a PPP deal.
“I’ve seen that in the development plan of CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines). I think not only in Iloilo but in the list of airports as well. Again, we will await the interest of the private sector to do this,” he added.
Last October 2022, Transportation secretary Jaime Bautista announced that the airport was set to undergo an upgrade under a PPP scheme and expected the completion of these airport projects in the provinces by 2023 as part of efforts to boost travel and tourism in the country.
Iloilo Airport is situated on 188 hectares of land covering barangays Tabucan, Tiring, Gaub, Duyan-Duyan, and Manguna in Cabatuan.
The 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.
Earlier, CAAP-Iloilo terminal supervisor Arthur Parreño said it has been 15 years since the airport opened in 2007, and improvements and expansions are “long overdue.”
The main passenger terminal, designed to accommodate only 400 to 450 passengers, should be expanded, said Parreño.
He added that the airport now caters to 20 flights (both departure and arrival) a day, and every flight has about 170 to 200 passengers.
Three departures or outgoing flights in the morning would have over 600 passengers combined, way above current capacity.
Another airport area that needs expansion is the runway, said Parreño, especially now that three airlines – Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia – resumed their usual number of flights./PN
