DEPARTMENT OF Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade said Vigan airport will spur development in Ilocos Sur province.
The Department of Transportation (DOTR) chief made the statement following the recent completion of development projects at the airport.
During the inauguration of the rehabilitated Vigan Airport, Tugade said he wants to "cement" Vigan’s reputation as a preferred tourist destination and as one of the Seven Wonder Cities of the World.
He announced the upgrading the airport's capabilities such as making it night-rated, giving its runway an additional one-kilometer extension, and expansion.
“Nandiyan, yung sabi ngang nadagdagan kayo na kasama sa 7 wonder cities of the world. Dapat lang mabigyan kayo ng isang paliparan na magiging kaaya-aya, na hindi lang sa mga taga-Ilocos Sur kundi sa lahat ng bibisita foreign o local,” Tugade stressed.
Among the development projects completed by the DOTr and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) at the Vigan Airport include the expansion and improvement of its Passenger Terminal Building (PTB), including the facilities at its arrival and pre-departure areas as well as the construction of the airport's Administrative Building, a powerhouse, and the provision of runway features.
There are also ongoing projects at the airport including the construction of water tanks, a vehicular parking area, a cyclone wire perimeter fence, and a runway drainage system.
With the expansion of its terminal, the Vigan Airport can now accommodate 150 passengers at any given time increasing its previous capacity of 40 passengers.
The rehabilitation and expansion of the Vigan Airport is part of the 248 airport projects completed by the DOTr and CAAP since 2016.
Ilocos Sur Governor Ryan Singson said the inauguration of the Vigan Airport under the Build, Build, Build Infrastructure Development Program of the Duterte administration is a testament of cooperation between the national and local governments to provide Filipinos with the most fundamental services of mobility and convenience.
“The inauguration of the Vigan Airport Development Project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), under the "Build, Build, Build" Program of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is a proof of the commitment and synergy of both national and local government in bringing about convenience to the general public,” Singson said.