ILOILO CITY – Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to approve the proposed expansion of the Iloilo Airport.
PASSENGERS arrive at the Iloilo Airport. (Tara Yap)
“Our problem is very practical. Our airport is already congested and we could no longer fit in our terminal,” said Defensor after bringing up the issue of the airport operating beyond capacity during a recent meeting with DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista.
“We want to avoid further delay in the airport expansion,” Defensor told the Iloilo Provincial Capitol Press Corps.
Defensor urged the DOTr to expedite the evaluation process for the unsolicited proposal submitted by Prime Asset Ventures Inc. (PAVI). The proposal is awaiting the review of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), an attached agency of the DOTr.
Based on the proposal, the expansion project include upgrading of the passenger terminal building, construction of apron adjacent to the passenger terminal building, and modernizing equipment for passenger services.
The airport that straddles between the town of Santa Barbara and Cabatuan opened in 2007 when the airport here was closed.
The Iloilo Airport was designed to cater to 1.2 million passengers per year only. Prior to the pandemic, the airport was serving 2.4 million passengers per year.