REQUEST FOR EXPANSION. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas requested that the expansion of the Iloilo International Airport in the municipality of Cabatuan in Iloilo province be on the list of priority projects of the national government. His request was referred to the Department of Transportation on Thursday (March 23, 2023). (PNA file photo)
ILOILO CITY – Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas has requested that the Iloilo International Airport be included on the list of priority projects of the national government.
“We need to continue pushing for the development of our international airport since it is now overcrowded. If it is expanded, we can accommodate for flights and more visitors,” Treñas said in a Viber message on Thursday.
The Iloilo International Airport is located in the municipality of Cabatuan, Iloilo province.
The mayor, who sits as chairperson of the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Western Visayas Regional Development Council, sent a letter of request to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on March 13.
NEDA’s Investment Programming Group (IPG) forwarded the mayor's letter to Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan.
A copy of the referral letter was received by Treñas on Thursday.
“Mayor Treñas reported that the existing airport in the Western Visayas regional center is already reaching its capacity, and expanding the airport would not only accommodate the increasing number of passengers but would also create more job opportunities and support the growth of the city’s economy,” NEDA Undersecretary Joseph J. Capuno said in the letter.
Capuno said they have noted that the expansion is not included in the DOTr’s submission of proposed infrastructure projects for inclusion in the Public Investment Program (PIP) 2023-2028 and the Three Year-Rolling Infrastructure Program (TRIP) 2024-2026.
He also requested Batan to give Treñas updates on the unsolicited Public-Private Partnership (PPP) proposal or if there were any other plans for the rehabilitation, operation, maintenance, and expansion of the airport during the previous administration.
“As the primary entity in charge of planning and programming, coordinating, and implementing, among others, the promotion, development, and regulation of safe, efficient, and reliable transportation services and systems in the country, including air transport facilities, we deem that the subject request is under DOTr’s purview,” Capuno added.
In a previous interview, Treñas said he also wrote a letter to the Aboitiz InfraCapital to consider the expansion of the airport as its area of investment under the PPP scheme.
He added that the proposed expansion already has a budget but it was used during the pandemic.
The expansion was not also included in the 10 infrastructure flagship projects for Western Visayas that were identified under the current administration. (PNA)
