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Elijah Felice Rosales - The Philippine Star
June 23, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The main airport to tourist hotspot Boracay is slated to open a new passenger terminal building (PTB) by 2027, lining up the island for more capacity to welcome travelers.
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon told reporters that San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has promised to start building the new PTB of the Caticlan Airport as early as this month.
SMC unit Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp. (TADHC) manages the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, known as the Caticlan Airport, the main gateway to Boracay.
Likewise, SMC chairman and CEO Ramon Ang said the PTB would be completed by 2027, so that President Marcos can see its opening before he ends his term. Dizon is pressing TADHC to improve the airport as soon as possible to boost tourist arrivals.
Dizon said one of the reasons Boracay’s tourist numbers are dipping is because its airport has yet to be renovated for better capacity. In 2024, tourist arrivals in Boracay fell by two percent to 2.08 million in spite of public and private efforts to promote the island.
“San Miguel has committed to break ground this June or July the terminal building for Caticlan, finally,” Dizon said.
“I know it is a major pain point for travelers to Boracay, and probably one of the reasons that the Boracay numbers have gone down is because of the airport,” he added.
In 2024, infrastructure developer Megawide Construction Corp. landed the contract to design and build the new PTB in Caticlan Airport.
The Caticlan Airport is the most viable transit option for visitors to reach Boracay. It is located in the municipality of Malay to the north of Aklan, from where tourists are just a ferry ride away from Boracay.
Within the remaining term of the Marcos administration, the Department of Transportation aims to turn over 10 more airports in the regions to the private sector. Dizon said the priority right now is the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao.
Dizon said public-private partnerships are being considered for airports in Iloilo, Siargao, Laoag, Busuanga, Bicol, Tacloban, Bacolod, General Santos City and Puerto Princesa.
To date, there are seven airports managed by private groups: Caticlan, Mactan-Cebu, Clark, New Manila, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Laguindingan and Bohol-Panglao.
