MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is eyeing the construction of new airports in at least four provinces.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy Batan disclosed that the DOTr is looking at building new airports in Zamboanga, Dumaguete, Masbate, and Bukidnon, among other provinces and towns.
“Ang objective natin diyan ay magkaroon ng mas safe at mas malawak na reach ang ating mga airports at nang tayo ay makapag-accommodate ng mas maraming flight sa mga pasahero,” Batan said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(Our objective is for our airports to have safer and wider reach so we could accommodate more flights for passengers.)
Aside from the four provinces, Batan noted that the government would be focusing on creating the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan and the Sangley International Airport in Cavite.
“Kasama sa mga prayoridad ng ating administrasyon ang pagtatayo ng bagong international airport na magseserbisyo sa Kamaynilaan,” he said.
(Included in our administration’s priorities is building new international airports to serve Metro Manila.)
One of the DOTr’s projects is to modernize airport facilities by having biometric technology and self-service check-in and boarding solutions, said Batan.
“Tulad nga ng sinasabi ni Secretary [Jaime] Bautista, ang ating layunin sa Kagawaran ng Transportasyon ay makapaghatid ng isang affordable, convenient, safe, at accessible na transport service para sa ating mga kababayan,” he shared.
(Like Secretary Bautista has said, our objective in the Department of Transportation is to deliver affordable, convenient, safe, and accessible transport service for our fellow Filipinos.)
“Mahalagang parte niyan ang ating mga paliparan dahil sa tayo ay isang archipelagic na bansa kung saan marami tayong isla at para makapunta sa ating mga iba’t ibang isla, kailangan natin ang mga airports,” he pointed out.
(An important part of it is our airports because we are an archipelagic country with many islands and to get to different islands, we need airports.)
During President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address, he vowed to build more international airports to boost tourism. -with reports from Andy Hoo, INQUIRER.net intern