Another international airport in Luzon is expected to open within the year.
Department of Transportation DOTr) secretary Arthur Tugade recently led a team that conducted an ocular visit to the Bicol International Airport (BIA) in Barangay Alobo, Daraga, Albay which is said to be almost 80% complete.
A data released by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in Bicol reveal that construction works for the airport is now 76.8% complete. The project actually started in 2008 but technical glitches and the damages caused by typhoons in the area hindered its development.
Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal expressed his happiness with the latest development as they see the airport as their window of opportunity in boosting their economy.
Rosal said the operation of BIA would bring in a huge number of foreign tourists that would surely improve the economic growth rate not only of Albay but the entire Bicol region.
“The completion of BIA will be a legacy of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) in Bicol and I am also very optimistic that the construction of the Philippine National Railway (PNR) will soon start,” Rosal added.
Meantime, Tugade said PNR operations in Bicol would start in 2022.