Funds released to speed up land acquisition for Bicol Airport

by MA Loterte

Legazpi City (23 July) — The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has transferred to the Albay Provincial Government P85 million to pay for the 140-hectare prime land straddling the areas of Daraga and Camalig town to be developed for the Bicol International Airport.

DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza recently turned-over to Albay Governor Joey Salceda the funds for the purchase of the new airport site.

DOTC officials and Albay local officials, including Camalig mayor Irwin Baldo and Daraga mayor Cicero Triumfante, and officials of the five barangays on the actual site of the proposed airport witnessed the turn-over ceremony.

Mendoza said construction works on the proposed airport are expected to start shortly and set its completion within 30 months or two and a half years.

Salceda conceptualized the idea of the Bicol International Airport and has since pursuing the construction of the new airport in Albay province to fast track and catapult the region’s economic development.

He said the proposed airport and its facilities will answer the need for a modern airport in Southern Luzon that will cater to more business activities in the area and conveniently links Bicol to the rest of the country and the world.

He added the air transport facility would further improve the performance of the region in tourism arrivals, employment generation and business investment.

The Bicol International Airport easily qualifies as among the biggest and most ambitious government projects in the Bicol Region to date, with prospects of even greater returns on investment. (PIA V)