PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines — Two years after its expansion project, Puerto Princesa International Airport will open in March 2017.
Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron confirmed its opening.
“Our International airport which is on construction will be operational by next year March 2017,” he said during his opening remarks at the 6th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chief justices’ roundtable on the environment in Palawan.
“This airport will be one of the Philippines' gateway to Asia,” he added.
Puerto Princesa tourism officer Toto Alvior earlier said their local government targets to increase tourist arrivals to around 1.3 million next year after the opening of their world-class airport as it will provide more access to tourists with direct flights coming in. They are estimating 1.2 to 1.3 million tourists, which is a 60 percent increase in tourist arrivals in their city alone.
In 2015, Puerto Princesa was able to contribute more than 80 percent of the one million total tourist arrivals in the whole Palawan.
The airport expansion project costs $102.56 million while its design and build contract, awarded to Korean group Kumho Industrial Co. Ltd.-GS Engineering and Construction joint venture, was worth $82.9 million, according to the Department of Transport (DOTr).
It was an initiative of former President Benigno Aquino III’s administration under its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.