THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) has inaugurated the P744 million Corporate Building and Command Center of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
Completed last March 21, the six-story building will house employees of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) with better equipment and facilities.
The new facility aims to improve services and accessibility to clients. Construction began on March 28, 2019.
Identical to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport’s (MCIA) design, the corporate office building will have passageways that are linked to terminal buildings to avoid crossing vehicle lanes.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade attended the inauguration. He also conducted an inspection of the airport’s second runway, which is expected to be completed in May 2022.
“What we are doing now in Cebu is creating a platform for a tourism booster,” Tugade said.
Tugade said the improvement works at the MCIA, and the improvement and construction of three other airports in the province will propel Cebu Province as a “good place for business.”
“As we improve the existing airport and the terminal, as we add a second runway for the MCIA, we are telling the whole world: Come to Cebu. It is a place for business,” Tugade said.
Second runway
Meanwhile, with the rapid pace of the construction of the airport’s secondary runway, Tugade said partial operations may begin before the end of April 2022 to enable MCIA to accommodate more aircraft.
Tugade said the MCIA also targets to increase its passenger cap from 1,000 passengers to 2,000 passengers to accommodate travelers, returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and Filipino seafarers, in anticipation of the influx of passengers during the Christmas season.
“Effective last week, we granted an increase in capacity for passengers. Our countrymen are in a hurry to come home. They really want to go home to their houses,” Tugade said in a mix of Tagalog and English.
Tugade also said the DOTr has been pushing for the completion of the Bantayan Airport.
He said President Rodrigo Duterte committed P150 million to fast-track the completion of the gateway, which he said will be operational in April 2022.
Tugade said the DOTr will also oversee the start of construction and completion of the Camotes Airport in the town of San Francisco, Camotes Islands, and Medellin Airport in the town of Medellin.
Meanwhile, MCIAA general manager Julius Neri Jr., explained that aside from the MCIA, the Bantayan and Camotes Airports will be serving the tourism industry, while the Medellin Airport will have a different purpose.
“It (Medellin) will be developed into an export processing zone,” Neri said.
For his part, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan said the development of MCIA’s second runway will be a huge lift for the city’s tourism industry.
“You know, Mactan-Cebu International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the Philippines. You know, Lapu-Lapu is a tourism hub, so this development will surely bring in several tourists here. This is a big help for our city,” Chan said in a mix of Tagalog and English.