CEBU CITY – The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) has been recognized as “Asia Pacific Medium Airport of the Year 2018” and thanks to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for doing a “great job” in its airport build-up projects, according to Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino.
Dino hailed the agency for its efforts that led to the international recognition of the airport, one of the 17 airport projects that have been completed during the first half of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term.
“Of the 17 airport projects, two of them were new airports built and completed under Duterte’s first three years. And I’m proud to mention that one of the two new airports is the Bohol-Panglao International Airport, the other being the Lal-Lo International Airport in Cagayan,” Dino said, even as he noted that the airport in Panglao is considered as the country’s first “eco-airport”.
Ormoc Airport’s new facilities were also inaugurated by no less than the President himself, Dino said, adding, the efforts of the Duterte administration through Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, have now started to pay off. He said the MCIA led the banner of medium airports commended by the Center for Asia Pacific (CAPA) Aviation Awards.
The MCIA was named as medium airport of the year, next to Korea’s Incheon International Airport which was named as “Asia Pacific Large Airport of the Year” and Malaysia’s Senai International Airport as “Pacific Small Airport of the Year”.
Dino also underscored MCIA’s new achievement of having bagged another global recognition after it won last week the International Architecture Awards for Airports and Transportation Centers category this year, for the unique tropical design of its Terminal 2 (T2). “I am very proud that one of our own, internationally renowned designer Kenneth Cobonpue has been recognized as the key to the design of MCIA’s T2, along with other local designers Royal Pineda and Budji Layug,” Dino told the Philippine News Agency.
Cobonpue, Pineda, and Layug worked with the Hong Kong-based architectural firm, Integrated Design Associates, for the T2 design. Cobonpue is the current chairman of the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas.
The MCIA, which was also hailed as the world’s friendliest resort airport, opened its new passenger terminal building last year, bolstering its annual capacity to 13.5 million passengers. In a post on the airport’s official website, Louie Ferrer, president of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), said MCIA is staying true to its destination.
In 2016, MCIA was also awarded as the “Asia Small Airport of the Year.” “While most other airports choose modern structures made of glass and steel structures, we stayed true to our island resort identity, with Cebu being one of the world’s favorite resort destinations,” Ferrer said.
According to Dino, aside from the 17 commercial airport projects reported completed by DOTr Aviation and Airport Sector and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), there are 28 more airport projects that are still up for completion. “President Duterte has fulfilled his promise in the second and third state of the Nation Address in 2017 and 2018 to flood the country with port and airport build-up projects under the Build, Build, Build program,” Dino said.
Duterte has commended Tugade for DOTr’s achievements in beautifying airports and seaports in the country, along with two other Cabinet members – Secretary Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways and Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry. (John Rey Saavedra)
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