Iloilo solon welcomes public-private partnership for proposed airport rehab
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY — Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor welcomed the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) for the proposed rehabilitation and management of the Iloilo Airport.
ILOILO Airport (Tara Yap)
“With the new PPP Law, the upgrade could begin anytime before the second half of next year,” said Defensor in a statement.
Defensor met Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the PPP Center this week.
The meeting was held following reports that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) evaluated the unsolicited proposal of Prime Asset Ventures Inc. (PAVI) to rehabilitate and operate the airport. PAVI is a holding company owned by former Senate President and real estate magnate Manny Villar.
There are also proposals from Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. and property developer Megaworld Corp.
The airport that is supposedly of international standard is now operating beyond its capacity and has been subject of criticisms and complaints including its poor air-conditioning system and elevators.
The airport that straddles the town of Santa Barbara and Cabatuan opened in 2007 when the airport here was closed down.
When it was built, the airport was designed to only cater to 1.2 million passengers per year. Prior to the pandemic, the airport was serving 2.4 million passengers per year.