New Bohol International Airport Development Introduction Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the central Visayas

region, known for being a popular tourist destination with its beaches and resorts. The Chocolate Hills and Panglao Island are just some of the famous geographical attraction Bohol has always been proud of. Being considered today as a prime eco-cultural tourism destination with an outstanding projected growth in the national tourism industry, Bohol exhibits a big reliance to transportation system of the province. Tagbilaran City, Bohols capital, serves as the principal gateway of Bohol through the Tagbilaran Airport. However, due to the increasing demand brought by tourism, the government has seen that this domestic airport can no longer support the current air traffic to the province due to its short runway and limited capacity to handle departures and arrivals. Hence, the proposal for a new airport led by Bohol 1st District Congressman Rene Relampagos came up. Formerly called Panglao Island International Airport, New Bohol Airport is planned to replace the existing Tagbilaran Airport. As one of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for 2011 under the presidency of Benigno Noynoy Aquino III, it is intended to become Bohols prime international airport to suffice the demands of the province tourism industry. Goal A vision of an international airport to strengthen Bohol as a leading tourism destination. Short-term Goal: To establish an airport that can handle bigger capacity of departures and arrivals than the existing Tagbilaran Airport. Medium-term Goal: To strengthen Panglao Islands potentials as a leading summer tourist destination like the Boracay Island. Long-term Goal: To empower the province of Bohols capabilities to compete in terms of being one of the Philippines pride for tourism, as well as to make the tourism industry a primary contributor towards economic stability not only for Bohol but also for our country as a whole. Project Objectives y To replace the Tagbilaran Domestic Airport as a means of improving the province air traffic. y To have a longer runway to accommodate larger number of departure and arrivals. y To establish much modernized airport facilities to cope up with todays demands in tourism. Statements of the Problem Tagbilaran Airport has been the main airport of Bohol catering three commercial aerial transportations such as Asian Spirit, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines. It is the means of arriving to the province via air from Cebu City or Manila. As a domestic airport, it has 1.7 kilometer runway and a single terminal. Due to the growth of Bohols tourism industry, the airport has been reported to experience problems with regards to the congestion at the passengers arrival and departure area, as well as the

elbow room only dilemma encountered by airline companies at the airport ramp area causing delayed arrivals. The local government had planned to expand the airport ramp as a solution to the usual scenarios in the airport. However, they saw the possible problems to be encountered once the ramp area will be expanded. These include the land acquisition outside the airport compound since a number of residences and commercial establishments are occupying the area; the vacant lot on the left side of the airport seemed to be the best site for the proposal but possible serious safety concerns might be raised by pilots since the touchdown zone situated near the area would be drastically affected. According to The Bohol Chronicle, increasing the 1,779-meter length of the present runway will offset the possible loss of touchdown zone which is the first 914-meter starting at the threshold of the runway. Thus, the realization of the New Bohol Airport has been perceived as the best solution to the drastic congestion experienced at Tagbilaran Airport. Significance of the Project This proposal will be significant to the following entities: 1. Department of Tourism The project is expected to benefit largely the Department of Tourism since it is aiming to improve the air travelling system in Bohol to sustain the progress of tourism in the province. Once it pushes through, more tourists will be accommodated, thus contributing budget to the tourism industry. 2. National and Local Government Establishing a new airport to cater not only domestic but also international flights will pave the way towards strengthening the tourism industry which is essential for economic development both of the national and the local government. 3. Tourists Among the other benefactors, tourists will be surely positively affected by this project since it will improve their travelling to be more convenient and less prone to delayed flights and arrivals. 4. People of Bohol Strengthening the tourism industry also means opening greater opportunities to the people of Bohol since tourism involves employment generation. 5. Bidders/Contractors/Architects/Engineers Construction of New Bohol Airport incorporates the expertise of professionals to their advantage. 6. Researchers/Students This may serve as a basis to students in terms of planning airports that provide international services. Legal Bases These are the laws that lead to the proposal of establishing the New Bohol Airport: 1. REPUBLIC ACT No. 9446 This is an act that declares the province of Bohol as an eco-cultural tourism zone. It gives power to DOT and its attached agencies to provide necessary technical and financial assistance for the development of tourism infrastructure and skills development in the Province of Bohol while endeavoring, when practicable, to promote the tourism zone, both locally and internationally. 2. REPUBLIC ACT No. 6957 This is an act authorizing the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure projects by the private sector, thus creating the Public-Private Partnership program of the

government which is now the prime mechanism responsible for the project of the new airport in Bohol. Entities Involved The following entities have significant roles in the proposal of New Bohol Airport: 1. President Benigno Noynoy Aquino The president has been currently integrating PPP as a strategy towards achieving economic development. In the recent roll-out of 2011 projects under PPP, the New Bohol Airport has been included among those government infrastructural projects that are currently undergoing the PPP mechanism. 2. Bohol 1st District Congressman Rene Relampagos Congressman Relampagos is said to be the prime mover of the proposal to construct a new airport in Bohol to replace the old Tagbilaran Airport. 3. Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) This government agency is assigned to conduct and update feasibility studies for the said project. 4. MIAA/CAAP These serve as the sponsoring agencies, together with DOTC, of the proposal. 5. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) JICA has been assigned for the preparation of PPP structure and bid documents of the project. 6. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) NEDA is responsible for the evaluation and approval of bid documents concerning the proposal. Economic Gains of the Project National y Once the project pushes through, it will accommodate more foreign visits thus empowering tourism which will eventually create more investments to our country. Regional y Aside from empowering tourism, constructing a new airport would allow more convenient travel from Manila which opens opportunities for businessmen to explore the possibilities of investing within the region. Provincial y Increase in tourism will pave the way for more businesses to rise, thus stabilizing the economy of Bohol. Local y Once businesses started to blossom, it will eventually lead to employment generation among the people of Panglao Island and of the nearby areas. Project Funding and Mechanism New Bohol Airport is a part of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for 2011 as approved by President Aquino.