Bantayan island airport set to open in December

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Transportation has announced the opening of Bantayan Island Airport in northern Cebu in December this year.

The announcement was made after the inspection, led by Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Steve Dicdican, over the weekend.

The DOTr inspection team assessed the developments in the ongoing construction of the Bantayan Island Airport. Based on the assessment, DOTr said the Bantayan Island Airport project is now 50 percent complete.

The scope of the project includes the extension and completion of the partially concreted runway, which is now at 70 percent progress rate, while the construction of the perimeter fence is 30 percent complete.

According to Dicdican, the project is on track and is even ahead of its projected target completion by December 2020.

"Bantayan is indeed a beautiful place, so we have to make our airport beautiful as well," Dicdican said.

During the site visit on August 7, Dicdican also announced the plan to finish everything by November, so the inauguration will be on December.

The MCIAA and the Cebu Provincial Government signed a memorandum of agreement last year to develop the airport into a commercial air hub.

Situated on a 29-hectare province-owned property in Sta. Fe town, the Bantayan Island Airport is classified as a community airport catering to only chartered flights.

The MCIAA has undertaken the improvements in the airport to meet the standards of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) including its P94.4 million project for the lengthening and paving of the runway and over P3 million terminal improvements. — FPL (FREEMAN)