PANGLAO, Bohol – President Arroyo launched here yesterday the construction of the P4.17-billion Panglao-Bohol International Airport to boost the tourism and trade potentials of the province.
Mrs. Arroyo led the capsule-laying ceremony in Barangay Tawala, assisted by Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi, Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, and Panglao Mayor Benedicto Alcala.
After the capsule-laying, Cusi briefed the President on the status of the project funded through MIAA’s P3-billion income and P1 billion from the Department of Transportation and Communications.
Cusi told the President that the international airport is targeted to be operational in the first quarter of 2010 and can accommodate one million passengers per year.
Mrs. Arroyo pointed out that no foreign loans were sourced for the Panglao airport project, as government revenue agencies have consistently exceeded their targets these past few years.
Mrs. Arroyo is in Bohol to attend the Regional Security and Development Summit. – With Antonieta Lopez