by Nick Ferrer
[ manilastandardtoday.com ] March 29, 2010
THE construction of Boracay 2, the controversial international airport in Romblon, is now in full blast with foreign and local investors rushing in to buy prime properties in Carabao island, the municipal mayor of San Jose said in a statement Sunday.
Mayor Filipino Tandog said 1.8 kilometers of the runway was constructed out of the P3-billion private initiative project that is expected to be operational by 2012.
In a meeting with President Gloria Arroyo in Malacañang last month, the President assured Romblon Rep. Leandro Jesus Madrona and Gov. Natalio Beltran III and other provincial officials that the Carabao airport project will “materialize” even with the Caticlan airport upgrade project where food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. was interested, Tandog said.
Tandog chided officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications for saying that the Carabao island airport will not push through because of the air traffic and the prohibition of having two international airports within 50 kilometers.
“We don’t care about the Caticlan airport expansion. No matter what our detractors say, what we can say is we have our own international airport in Carabao island in Romblon that is being financed by private businessmen and not by the government,” he said. “We have started the project since late last year or earlier than the ground breaking of the Caticlan airport expansion.”
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