Big ideas for Mactan infrastructure pushed by Del Mar, Osmeña

A proposal to relocate the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to Cordova town is not the only big idea being considered for Mactan island.

It would “complement” a proposal by Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar and her father Raul to build an underwater tunnel connecting Mactan to mainland Cebu to shorten travel time to the airport.

The undersea tunnel is the subject of House Bill 00192, which she filed July 1, 2010, her first day of office as a congressman.

“We must always be open to the future needs because progress is not stationary. What is sufficient today may not be sufficient 10 years from now,” said Raul del Mar, former north district representative, in an interview yesterday.

The bill titled “An act providing for the construction of an undersea tunnel from Cebu City to the municipality of Cordova and a coastal road to Lapu-Lapu, Province of Cebu, and appropriating funds therefore” is classified as a local bill, like two other bills she filed to build flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue in Cebu City.

Based on the website of the House of Representatives, the bill on the proposed tunnel was referred to the House committee on public works and highways

No time frame or budget has been set, and a feasibility study still has to be made for such a long-term infrastructure project.

The bill was first drafted by Raul during his previous term as legislator and is now being pursued by his daughter.

The tunnel would shorten travel time to the airport and would connect to a “dedicated” road that would lead to the existing airport or the new proposed airport in Cordova town, he said.

Raul said he thought of this since a third Mandaue-Mactan bridge was no longer feasible.

“We cannot have a third bridge any more because that will already close the sea lane. The progress of Cebu is because of its port area. That is an asset for trade and industry,” he said.

Raul said that Socio Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. promised to help undertake a tunnel feasibility study, which could also include the transfer of the airport to Cordova.

“I think NEDA already knows that is necessary. Considering that there are interested bidders (who wanted to buy the existing MCIA lot), that will make it easier,” he said.

Representative Del Mar and her father visited Cebu City north barangays yesterday to distribute cash aid to victims of fires and demolitions from barangays Lahug, Sambag II and Mabolo.

A new airport in Cordova would also mean reclaiming at least 100 hectares of foreshore land, a massive project that environment advocates said would have a toll on marine life and reefs. But Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy said he supports this to bring economic progress to his town.

Rep. Tomas Osmeña said he would push for the airport transfer to Cordova in the name of progress the way his father, former Cebu City Mayor Serging Osmeña lobbied to get the Mactan International Aiport built in 1966 as an alternate to the old Lahug airport.

An airstrip in Lahug was Cebu’s only airport for decades until the transfer to Mactan. The Lahug airstrip was later closed, and the land developed into the present Asiatown IT Park.

AIRPORT TRANSFER

Aside from SM, other large real estate developers Robinsons Land, Filinvest and Ayala Land have sent feelers that they would be interested to buy the 300-hectare Mactan airport property if it is put up for sale.

Last Nov. 3, SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy wrote the airport manager expressing interest in purchasing the property because the current location “is already proving to be too small vis-a-vis the consistently increasing number of air passengers using the same.”

Airport general manager Nigel Paul Villarete said he is submitting the matter to the board of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).

On Thursday, he showed reporters a fax letter of intent from Robinsons Land Corp.’s vice president for business development who said that that in case MCIAA would pursue privatization, the company would like to participate.

Ayala Land and Filinvest also sent e-mails showing similar interest, he said.

Villarete said that while a vital facility like an airport is beyond the commerce of man, this is not an absolute rule.

“Look what happened to the Lahug airport,” he said.

“There were letters of intent submitted, so we have to act on it,” said Villarete.

He said this hasn’t been discussed yet by the board, and that it would be studied in more detail first by the committee on planning and development headed by engineer Pericles Dakay.

Raul del Mar said that the idea of relocating the MCIA was worth looking into this early.

“Having the airport in Mactan is not final. We might need a bigger place later on,” he said.

A transfer would also allow MCIA to even expand its operation and be at par with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Clark airport in Subic.

“There is no more problem on what to do with the existing facility because investors are willing to develop the area,” he said.

Meanwhile, “let us not stop improving the (existing) airport because if the proposed transfer is not feasible, then we will still have all the facilities in place.”

“This is all part of a continuous progression for the future needs of Cebu. We should not immediately dismiss things that we see are not necessary for now because we need bigger things in the future,” he said.