Once completed, the new facility is expected to boost the economy and improve the passenger experience of passemgers traveling to the popular island destination.
On Monday, July 14, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremony for the new wing of the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport, otherwise known as the Caticlan Airport, in Aklan province.
The upcoming passenger terminal building will span a total floor area of over 36,000 square meters (sqm), composed of its main terminal and support building.
It has been designed to handle up to seven million passengers annually and replace the existing facility when it finishes on its target completion date of December 2026.
Moreover, it shall also have state-of-the-art check-in counters, streamlined security screening areas, upgraded baggage handling systems, and eight passenger boarding bridges.
The new Caticlan Airport terminal costs PHP2.5 billion and will be implemented by San Miguel Corporation (SMC)’s subsidiary, Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp., in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Meanwhile, the construction will be carried out by Megawide Construction Corporation.
“We are very happy and we are all very excited that we are slowly putting together the building blocks of our policy of opening up our areas, tourist areas, our business areas to international travelers without having to go through the Manila Airport,” said President Marcos.
He also noted the importance of the tourism sector to the economy, telling, “The influx of people and travellers is going to be a big boost to the local and national economy. Tourism right now contributes close to 8% to our GDP and that is something we want to increase and that is why these projects that we have are also important.”
He also requested that the 24-month timeline to be reduced to 18 months, if possible.
Also present during the ceremony were Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, Aklan Governor Jose Enrique Miraflores, heads of other agencies, executives from San Miguel and Megawide.
Secretary Dizon shared that through this project, “Boracay will strengthen its position as a premier destination while boosting the tourism economy and improving travel comfort for both domestic and international passengers.”
The DOTr chief also reiterated that San Miguel has committed to completing the new PTB before 2027.
As for Governor Jose Enrique Miraflores, the Aklan chief executive shared that the new terminal would benefit the province’s economy and further boost tourism, especially to the popular Boracay Island.
“Ito ’yung hinihintay namin na project for our province—for our tourism industry. Especially sa tourism industry namin, ito lagi ’yung hinahanapan ng improvement kung paano ba namin mapalaki ang economy natin dito nang mas mabilis,” the governor said.
Caticlan Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the Philippines, having processed over three million passengers in 2024, just behind Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), and the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao.