Friday, August 7, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ILOILO CITY — A private firm is pursuing the construction of a P6-billion airport in an island resort near Boracay Island.
The Aklan-Romblon Properties Corp. (ARPC) is eyeing to put up an airport on Carabao Island in San Jose, Romblon.
ARPC Chairman Delfin Wenceslao, Jr. said the proposed Carabao Island International Airport Project will reduce travel time to Boracay since the airport is just 1.5 nautical miles, or a 10-minute ride by pumpboat, north of Boracay Island.
Mr. Wenceslao said the project is now on the design phase. The firm has already fully acquired 120 hectares for the airport site and the entire area has been fenced in and ready for land preparation.
Mr. Wenceslao said their firm is currently selecting from three duly accredited multinational engineering firms to provide detailed drawings.
"Within 60 to 90 days, the detailed drawings will be submitted to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) for approval. From there, we expect the international airport to be operational within 24 months," he added.
The municipal council of San Jose, the Romblon provincial board, and the Regional Development Council of Region 4-B (Mimaropa) have all unanimously passed resolutions approving the establishment and operation of an international airport in Carabao Island.
The DoTC’s Air Transportation Office has also granted locational clearance for the project.
Esteban Tajanlangit, Jr., ARPC vice-president, said the Carabao Island airport will ease access to Boracay by eliminating the costly and tedious travel experienced by foreign and domestic tourists going to the island.
Carabao Island has a total land area of some 3,000 hectares of mostly flat terrain. Mr. Tajanlangit, who described Carabao Island as "shaped like an aircraft carrier," said it can become a tourist destination in itself when developed in a way similar to Mactan and Lapu-Lapu Islands in Cebu.
"The place has a natural cove wide enough and deep enough to be ideal for international marina development. The new international airport can make this prospect viable," Mr. Tajanlangit said. — Francis Allan L. Angelo
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