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MANILA -- The provincial government of Bohol has to turn down requests from new and existing airlines to add more flights and intra-regional flights as the existing Tagbilaran airport terminal is already heavily congested. This developed as the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has yet to complete in two to three weeks the guidelines and modality for the new airport project in Panglao, Bohol, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto reported at the forum on Tomorrow’s Tourism: Harnessing the Growth Potentials of Tourism Sector at SMX as part of the Philippine programs for the 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that DOTC Undersecretary Josie Limcaoco has updated him on the progress of the project. According to Chatto, the DOTC expects to complete the guidelines in two to three weeks. There have been recommendations to use ODA (official development assistance) funds or undertake the project under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) scheme or a combination of both. There are also proposals to use ODA financing for the runway project while the airport terminal can be done through PPP. Chatto said they had acquired 93 percent of the planned 230-hectare airport site while the remaining lots were under barter or expropriation proceedings. Despite earlier misgivings on the Panglao airport project, which was hatched during the Arroyo administration with an indicative cost of P8 billion, Chatto said: “It has to be Panglao,” noting that studies have shown there is not enough space for expansion of the Tagbilaran airport and it would be risky to add more flights to its short runway. Meantime, Chatto said airlines had requested to add flights to Bohol while new airlines would like to fly into the province. There are also requests for intra-regional direct flights from Davao, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro. To date, there are 10 daily flights to the island province in Central Visayas. Chatto said the local government had to expand the existing terminal to make room for overflowing number of visitors. To open other gateways for Bohol, Chatto said the government had constructed a cruise seaport in Loon, another coastal town.
Bohol is now the country’s number one tourist destination because of its diverse attractions from the beaches, cultural heritage, natural scenery, religious, adventures, among others.
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