Mactan aviation school plans P60M transfer to Bohol

THE municipality of Bien Unido, Bohol province will benefit from a P60-million investment when an aviation school starts building an air park this year.

Cheynair Aviation Inc. confirmed plans to transfer its school base to Bohol, said Mayor Rey Nino Boniel, Bien Unido mayor, in a phone interview.

The school is presently located in Hangar 4 in Lapu-Lapu City.

Boniel said the move would provide employment opportunities in his town and reinforce local tourism.

The aviation company and its partner JC Armamento Development Inc. are developing an 18-hectare property in barangay Liberty, said Boniel.

The 18-hectare air park will include a private airstrip with a tarmac and runway, dormitories for students.

“The first of three phases for the development will include the runway and tarmac. Right now they are documenting and laying out of the whole development. They target to finish the first phase within the year,” said Boniel.

Under phase 1, Boniel said developers are looking at an investment of P60 million.

“If we include the second phase, we could be looking at an investment of P130 million,” said Boniel.

Boniel said this is the first big project by a private company in the town.

“If you look at the dormitories for students alone, you can already expect employment opportunities there. We are very happy about this,” said Boniel.

He said the school and airstrip would also complement the town’s aggressive thrust to promote tourism.

“The presence of the air park will provide an opportunity for us to become more visible to tourists as Cheynair also offers air tours that will take off and land in the Air Park,” said Boniel.

The Bien Unido mayor is promoting the town and its different attractions.

These include an underwater grotto, the recently opened Bohol Yatch Club and the town’s different seaweed dishes.

The town is also known as Bohol’s last frontier because part of its seawaters lies in the Danajon Bank, a double-barrier reef that is one of only six around the world.

Mayor Boniel said he was optimistic that Bien Unido will be known among the must-visit destinations in Bohol.

“Our underwater grotto offers a different kind of diving experience for tourists. It was our creative way of slowly eliminating the practice of dynamite fishing in our locality and to protect the natural resources of our seas,” said Boniel.