Upgrade to Puerto Princesa, Tacloban airports underway

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is keeping up the pace of airport developments in the regions, allocating half a billion pesos for the upgrade of gateways in Palawan and Tacloban.

The DOTr is investing P529.01 million to improve the runways of the Puerto Princesa International Airport in Palawan and Tacloban Airport in Leyte.

By project, the DOTr is spending P290.96 million for the runway upgrade of the Puerto Princesa International Airport and P238.05 million for a similar undertaking in Tacloban Airport.

The DOTr will conduct a pre-bid conference for the projects on July 26, and bidding documents for the contracts may be purchased until Aug. 7. The DOTr is giving the winning bidders 180 days to complete the Puerto Princesa International Airport Development Project and 270 days to do the Tacloban Airport Development Project.

The Puerto Princesa International Airport is one of the primary gateways to Palawan, a tourist hotspot. The airport welcomed a total of 1.12 million travelers in 2022.

The gateway is reached by prime carriers Cebu Pacific, AirAsia Philippines and Philippine Airlines (PAL), as well as boutique operators AirSWIFT Transport Inc. and Sunlight Air.

Meanwhile, the Tacloban Airport, also known as Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, received close to 1.5 million passengers in 2022 in its capacity as the main gateway to Eastern Visayas.

The airport is served by Cebu Pacific, AirAsia Philippines and PAL, with Cebu Pacific flying in the most number of travelers to Tacloban.

The DOTr is picking up the budget for the Puerto Princesa International Airport from the locally funded projects of the 2024 General Appropriations Act. On the contrary, the agency is sourcing the capital for the Tacloban Airport Development Project from continuing appropriations.

For 2024, the DOTr has set aside at least P14 billion for the construction and upgrade of regional airports. The agency is investing the amount for airport projects that seek to improve inter-island connectivity in the Philippines.

In President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address, he underscored the need to sustain efforts to build and upgrade airports to boost travel and tourism.