10 Mindanao Airports to Get an Upgrade in 2018
As part of the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) plan to improve the country’s air transportation facilities and help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), 10 Mindanao airports will get an upgrade this 2018. This is part of a P1.871 billion project that will benefit at least 25 airports around the Philippines.
The 10 Mindanao airports that will soon be upgraded are:
- Bukidnon Airport (P425 million)
- Zamboanga Airport (P221 million)
- Surigao Airport (P200 million)
- Ozamiz Airport (P192.20 million)
- Butuan Airport (P184 million)
- Dipolog Airport (P182 million)
- Cotabato Airport (P161 million)
- Maasin Airport (P122 million)
- Sanga-Sanga Airport (P100 million)
- Pagadian Airport (P84.20 million).
The DOTr also announced earlier this week that 8 airports will be developed so that they can accommodate flights at night. As of now, only 19 out of 42 airports have night landing capabilities.
“The 19 will increase to 27, once the eight airports have been set up for round-the-clock operations,” according to a statement from House of Representatives rules committee member Luis Jose Angel Campos as reported by Yas Ocampo.
“There’s no question that air travel around the country will be easier for everybody, including foreign tourists, once we get all our airports running at night to maximize their operations,” he added.
Dipolog, Cotabato, Ozamiz, and Pagadian are the Mindanao airports that would be given night-landing capabilities.
Improving the night landing services of 8 airports will contribute to the decongesting of NAIA according to Campos. “Several domestic flights departing from Manila are being crammed during daytime because of the inability of many provincial airports to receive flights at night. This has somewhat contributed to the jamming of the NAIA, which has only two runways handling both international and domestic flights,” he said.
Campos also mentioned that fresh funding to modernize 40 airports next year is already in the pipeline. P10.1 billion has been set aside by the government for this project. Clark International Airport will get the biggest slice of the pie with P2.74 billion while 13 other smaller airports will get a combined P262.61 million budget.
via Manila Bulletin / Yas D. Ocampo
