COMMERCIAL airlines are asking the government to upgrade the Francisco B. Reyes Airport in Busuanga, Palawan—from a feeder to an international airport—amid a noted rise in the number of tourists flocking to various resorts among the surrounding islands.
Raul Glorioso, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) chief of Aerodrome Development and Management Service, said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) had conducted a feasibility study to realign the runway, on account of a growing tourist demand.
“[But] realigning the runway so that it could be lengthened and avoid mountains would be like building a new airport,” he said, adding that aside from a runway, a new airport terminal and other infrastructure would also have to be built.
“The whole thing is estimated to cost from P5 billion to P6 billion, and it would take about three years to finish the runways, taxiways and associated buildings,” Glorioso said.
He added that the new realigned runway would be about 2.3 kilometers long, enough to accommodate large commercial airplanes operated by international airlines.
An international airport operates 24/7 and, therefore, visitors and tourists to Busuanga and nearby islands could come as they please, according to Glorioso, who added that, currently, tourists and visitors wishing to fly to Busuanga had to detour to Manila to take commercial flights or to charter private airplanes.
“The beauty of realigning the runway is that the present operations in Busuanga would not stop,” he said. The incoming Duterte administration, Glorioso said, would have to decide to go on with the project to entice more tourists into the country.
However, before the runway could be realigned the government has to issue a presidential proclamation to expropriate the surrounding lands reportedly owned by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). There is also the King Yulo Ranch (KYR) in the area, owned by the wealthy Yulo family that used to own the Yulo Canlubang Sugar State.
“Nobody could buy any land near the airport to speculate on real estate because all belongs either to the BAI or the KYR,” Glorioso said.
The Philippines lags behind its neighbors in tourist count because of the lack of infrastructure. While Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taipei and Bangkok averaged about 15 million tourists a year, the country could hardly hit the 5-million mark last year.
The rush to build resorts in any island in the Calamian was precipitated by the construction of the world class Amanpulo Resorts at the Pamalican island east of the Calamian in the early 2000.
A Japanese company had earlier proposed to build a runway in nearby Coron island, apparently with an eye to corner the bourgeoning Palawan tourist market, according to Rodante Joya of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap). The offer, however, was turned down, owing to the existence of the Francisco B. Reyes Airport. “There is a rule that no airport could be built nearer than 24 kilometers from another airport,” Joya said.
Busuanga also belongs to the Calamian Group of Islands in Northern Palawan, an area touted to evolve in the near future as the “Caribbean playground” for the rich and famous once a planned international airport becomes a reality there, according to an aviation official.
The outgoing Aquino administration, which was accused of underspending in infrastructure, had run out of time to build this dream international airport and runway networks. It is hoped that the Duterte administration would make the planned project a reality.
Already dotted with dozens of resorts, the Northern Palawan area may soon eclipse Boracay as the country’s preeminent tourist destinations, Glorioso added.
Aside from Busuanga, the other islands in the group includes: Coron, Calauit (where African animals roam); Malcapuya, Banana, Pass, Calumbayan and several minor islets. Adjacent to Coron is Culion Island, which was once an island for lepers.
“Boracay would fade into the background if an international airport could be built in Busuanga, the largest of more than ten islands comprising the Calamian,” Glorioso said. “Right now it [Francisco B. Reyes Airport] could only accommodate small turbo-prop aircraft because of terrain limitation, as the runway is only 1.6 km long,” he added.
Today, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and some chartered flights operates out of the Busuanga airport, which was renamed Francisco R. Reyes Airport in November 2008. Reyes was the mayor of Coron from 1936 to 1939 who donated the land that forms the current airport complex. The Caap said the airport is classified as a Class 2 principal (minor domestic) airport.
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The Puerto Princesa International airport is due to operate 1st quarter of 2017. This could partially or fully answer the travel from Manila to any place in Palawan. No immediate need for an international airport to serve Coron alone. This is an utter waste of tax money again. Put the money for the proposed Coron international airport to another destination to expand the reach of travelers from outside the country, or further improve the North to South highway/road of Palawan which is now existing to further develop responsible tourism, not only in Coron, but the whole of Palawan . . . the last frontier.