DOTr to prioritize Iloilo airport in gov’t privatization efforts
PRIORITY. Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vivencio Dizon (seated center left) meets with Iloilo officials to update them on the privatization of the Iloilo International Airport on Saturday. Dizon said they would prioritize the Iloilo Airport in the government’s privatization efforts. (Photo courtesy of Arnold Almacen/City Mayor’s Office)
ILOILO CITY — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will prioritize the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town in the government’s privatization efforts.
DOTr Secretary Vivencio Dizon, joined by other officials of the department, provided Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., City Mayor Jerry Treñas, and Uswag Ilonggo party-list Rep. James Ang Jr. an update on the unsolicited proposal from the Villar Group.
“We assured the mayor and the governor that DOTr will fast-track the current PPP (Public-Private Partnership) proposal from the Villar Group to ensure the sustainable development and growth of the airport to support the growth of the city,” Dizon said in an interview when he visited the airport on Saturday.
He said they were at the “very advanced stage” of the proposal and hoped to complete it within the year.
In the meantime, he said, P190 million in funds from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines would be used for the repair and rehabilitation of the present airport terminal.
The funds will be used to fix the equipment and escalator and add more seats and elevators, among others.
Dizon said the government would invest about P200 million this year. The private proponent would invest about P15 billion as a mandatory investment, but as soon as they come in, the initial investment would be P3.5 billion.
Treñas, who chairs the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Regional Development Council, said Iloilo was the second busiest airport in Western Visayas, so there was a need to improve it.
“Privatization is necessary because we are getting more flights every day. We will be getting more flights. I have read that last year, we had two million passengers and the second busiest airport in Western Visayas, second only to Caticlan,” he said in a separate interview.
Meanwhile, Defensor is mulling the idea of a terminal mall, perfect for Filipinos who come in droves when sending or welcoming relatives.
“I’ve been suggesting that – a mall. That is possible because I understand the proponent for the expansion of the airport is a mall operator. It is a terminal blended with mall,” he said.
He added that the terminal mall could “accommodate the culture and how we behave, how we do things here in Iloilo and the whole country.”
“That is only an idea. But I think, it’s a good direction moving forward, especially, again, that the proponent is also a mall operator. Hopefully, we can have a dialogue with the proponent and the DOTr to have something like that, and we want that to be the first in the whole country,” the governor added.
Dizon said they were open to the idea but needed to work with the private operator in charge of the master plan until 2035.
“The objective is to grow the airport up to 10.5 million passengers,” he added.
Dizon said apart from Iloilo, they were also eyeing the privatization of airports in Davao and other major tourist destinations, such as Siargao, Kalibo, Bacolod, and Dumaguete.
“The instruction of our President is we really need to privatize because that is the way forward,” he said.
READ: Iloilo airport temporarily closed to enable removal of stalled aircraft
