President Rodrigo Duterte will be the guest of honor in today’s inauguration of the newly-built Bohol-Panglao International Airport, the country’s first eco-airport and dubbed the “Green Gateway to the World.”
The new facility will replace the Tagbilaran Airport.
Eric Apolonio, spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said Duterte will be attending the event together with Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and CAAP director general Jim Sydiongco.
Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and National Economic and Development Authority chief Ernesto Pernia will also grace the event.
Apolonio said the P8.9-billion airport will be launched in cooperation with the Japanese government and Japan International Cooperation Agency.
He said the new facility features green and sustainable structures such as solar panels and motion sensor lighting, among other things.
A total upgrade from the Tagbilaran Airport nearby, the new Bohol-Panglao International Airport was built in a 220-hectare site on Panglao Island and is 10 times bigger than Tagbilaran Airport, which has a 22-hectare land area.
“Compared to Tagbilaran Airport’s capacity of 400 passengers, the new Panglao Airport can hold up to 650 passengers during peak hours,” Apolonio said.
Panglao is one of the fastest-growing holiday destinations in the Philippines as a result of its beaches and diving spots.
The airport is expected to accommodate more than two million passengers in its first year, and that compares with the 800,000 passengers being accommodated by the Tagbilaran airport.
Tugade recently led the inspection of the facility and checked the progress of its construction to ensure it is completed on schedule.
Tugade said the airport could accommodate seven aircraft at one time.
Tagbilaran Airport was placed under preventive maintenance, repair and patching work due to degradation caused by continuing rain.
The government is also rehabilitating and expanding eight other provincial airports: Naga, Tuguegarao, Cauayan, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Cotabato, Pagadian, and Ozamiz.
