Deal to modernize Bohol-Panglao airport signed

Metro Manila, Philippines - The agreement to modernize Bohol's international gateway was signed on Wednesday, Dec. 18, in step with upgrade plans for two primary airports early this year.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) sealed the deal at Malacañan Palace, along with other major regional transport projects.

Infrastructure development company Aboitiz InfraCapital secured the P4.5-billion project, promising to double airport capacity and upgrade facilities. The official turnover is in June 2025.

President Ferdinand Marcos. Jr, who witnessed the signing, said the project will drive the province’s tourism and economic growth.

“This means we can provide seamless travel to a lot of tourists, which translates to more jobs for Boholanos…This project is expected to generate P15 million in annual revenue during its first five years rising to P200 million by the end of the concession period,” he said.

Marcos said the project will be carried out in two phases in a bid to more than double the capacity from two to 2.5 million passengers in 2026, to almost four million in 2030.

Meanwhile, the DOTr said modernization plans for airports in Siargao and Dumaguete are also underway, with the World Bank International Finance Corporation assisting in the bidding process.

In September, the government turned over the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the New NAIA Infra. Corp. to upgrade the aging gateway.

A month after, the DOTr sealed the concession agreement with the Aboitiz group tasked to modernize the Laguindingan airport in Misamis Oriental by 2025. 

Meanwhile, the agency also signed on Wednesday other projects including the P16-billion construction of the New Cebu International Container Port, aimed to ease congestion at the Cebu Base Port.