THE 63 lot owners who hold a combined 22.5 hectares of land surrounding the Bantayan Island airport were formally asked by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to sell their properties to the Cebu Provincial Government for the airport's expansion.
“Ang atong gilantaw nga kining Bantayan mahimong world class tourist destination,” Garcia said through Sugbo News during her meeting with the lot owners in Sta. Fe town’s covered court on Wednesday, February 14.
(Our goal is to make Bantayan a world class tourist destination).
“Ang ako lang unta inyong masabot nga alang ni sa kaayohan sa Bantayan,” she added.
(I want you to know that Bantayan will benefit from this).
The aforementioned lots are located in barangays Balidbid and Okoy, which is adjacent to the province-owned land that houses the Bantayan airport.
Garcia had previously stated at a meeting with airline executives in December of last year, that the Capitol is trying to extend the runway not just to 1.5 km but as far as 3 km, claiming that she is "building for the future."
The Bantayan airport has been managed by the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) since April 2023.
Mactan and Bantayan can be reached by plane in just 25 minutes.
The airport runway on Bantayan island is 1.2 kilometers long; however, in order to handle commercial flights, this needs to be extended to 1.8 kilometers.
Commercial flights between Bantayan Island airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are anticipated to begin in the upcoming year once the plan materializes.
It's stated that the lot owners were happy to know about the number of travelers and guests arriving to the island.
At the moment, the island draws 3,000 visitors during weekdays and 6,000 people on weekends. (ANV, TPT)