Rama says selling airport lot is ‘like auctioning SRP’

As if flyover projects weren’t enough, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama had another issue to pick with his erstwhile political benefactor, Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district yesterday.

Rama said the congressman’s announcement about SM’s offer to buy the 300-hectare lot occupied by the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is “unpalatable” to businessmen with their own plans for the airport.

“The sale should not be entertained at present because there are investors who already had plans for the future. Having to discuss that matter now is just like putting the South Road Properties (SRP) under auction,” the mayor said.

The two former allies earlier clashed over the planned flyover projects in Cebu City, with Rama favoring flared road intersections and Osmeña supporting the flyovers.

Rama, concurrent chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC), also said Osmeña’s suggestion that there won’t be a need to build a bridge connecting Cordova with Cebu town if the airport transfer pushes through came too late.

He said he already presented his plans that include the construction of a bridge connecting Cebu City and Cordova and another one that connects Cordova to Bohol.

“It will start from the area where the SRP viaduct is located connecting to the Shell Island and to the shallow shores of Cordova. I already endorsed the project to RDC as part of the projects of the City and Cebu as a whole,” Rama said.

No need

He also expressed confusion over Osmeña’s lobbying for the transfer of the international airport in Lapu-Lapu City to Cordova town.

“Is he an official of Lapu-Lapu City now?” Rama asked.

In a press conference at his Guadalupe home last Wednesday, Osmeña disclosed that SM Primary Holding Corp. wrote a letter to MCIA manager Paul Villarete expressing their interest to buy the 300-hectare lot occupied by the airport.

SM’s proposal stemmed from a previous offer by Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy to airport officials to transfer the airport to their town in time for their proposed reclamation project.

Osmeña said proceeds from SM’s lot purchase can fund the transfer of the international airport to Cordova town.

He said the transfer will benefit Cebu City’s SRP project and Lapu-Lapu’s reclamation project since it will decongest traffic.

The former Cebu City mayor-turned-congressman also said there won’t be any need for a bridge since a roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessel can ferry passengers from the airport to the mainland similar to Hong Kong.

Not in this lifetime

Tourism stakeholders were mixed in their response to SM’s proposal.

They all agreed that moving the airport and selling the lot will benefit the province if properly planned.

“That may happen but maybe not in this lifetime,” said Hans Hauri, president of the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu.

Hauri said there are several factors to consider in deciding the viability of transferring the airport to Cordova town.

“First, if you put up a new airport in Cordova, you will need a lot of reclamation, and that area is where the Mactan Strait is located. You will have a lot of issue with environmental groups,” he said.

Hauri said he attended an MCIA presentation that showed that the existing airport site still has ample space for expansion to accommodate growth in arrivals efficiently for the next 30 years.

Hauri also said Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. already contacted experts from Johnny Air International from Singapore to help improve the country’s airports, including the MCIA.

Beneficial

Former tourism secretary Robert “Ace” Durano said if a new international airport for Cebu will be planned, it should have two runways designed for low-cost carrier operations and expandable to accommodate growing passenger volume.

It should also have good transport linkages to Metro Cebu, he said.

“If funding for the international airport can be raised and the social and environmental impact of this project is acceptable, it will benefit the Cebuanos,” Durano said.

Island Group president Jay Aldeguer said the airport transfer is a huge undertaking that requires careful study and expert opinion.

He said what’s definite is that Cebu needs a larger, better airport facility.

“I think this is also a good opportunity for us to study Mactan Island as a whole, with Megaworld and SM looking to establish large developments in the area,” Aldeguer said.

Too costly

For his part, Sitoy opposed Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza’s proposal to transfer the international airport to Caubian Island saying it is costly.

He said a 45-kilometer bridge is needed before reclamation can be done in Caubian.

“Constructing the bridge is a challenge and too costly. The suspension bridge would be from Cordova passing Hilutongan Channel, which has a depth of 10,000 feet, the deepest channel next to Surigao,” Sitoy explained.

If the airport transfer pushes through, Sitoy said the 300-hectare lot can become an Ayala-type commercial development in Lapu-Lapu City.

The SM lot purchase can also help the airport management settle its taxes with Lapu-Lapu City, he said.

Sitoy said Cordova town has 1,100 hectares of reclaimable area for an airport.

He said it can accommodate more than two runways each measuring 7.2 kilometers long, compared to the current airport, which only has a 3.7-km runway.