DOTr assures completion of international airport by 2020

FACE TO FACE. Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and his team during the recent meeting with Albay 2nd District Congressman Joey Salceda at DOTR headquarters in Clark, Pampanga. (SAA/DOTr-PIA5/Albay)

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Bicol International Airport will be completed by June 2020 and will be operational four months after.

This was announced by Albay 2nd District Congressman Joey Sarte Salceda after his recent meeting with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to discuss the status of various DOTr projects in the Bicol region.

“I explained to Secretary Tugade that Albay is number 4 in domestic tourism arrivals and if you add the tourism traffic in Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon, this would push these numbers higher. He committed that the construction will be completed in June 2020. Another four months to start operations,” Salceda said.

DOTr reported that the airside of the airport comprising the airstrip, runway, taxiway, apron and perimeter and fence is already 100% complete, while the landside comprising all the buildings and the site development are currently in the works.

Once completed in June 2020, the BIA is expected to accommodate 2 million passengers annually with the new and higher capacity facilities and enhanced safety of airport operation.

“Sec, you restored my faith in our future!” Salceda said during the meeting.

Hailed as “the most scenic gateway,” BIA is expected to boost Bicol’s tourism arrival and help Albay to become an economic powerhouse. (SAA-PIA5/Albay)

SAFEGUARDED. DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade (center) during his onsite inspection of the Bicol International Airport (BIA) last April 2019. Army soldiers and police personnel have tightened the security around the BIA to ensure the facility’s uninterrupted construction, of which, by then, was 57% completed. (SAA/DOTr-PIA5/Albay)