Alaminos City, home of the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP), will become the site of the first commercial airport in the province and will be known as the Pangasinan Airport.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the construction of the Alaminos Airport Development Project was signed on September 24 by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Alaminos City government.

Undersecretary Doroteo Reyes signed the MOA for of the DOTC while Mayor Hernani Braganza represented the Alaminos government.

DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza approved the MOA for the project, which has been set for construction starting this year, finally ending speculations as to where the commercial airport will be built.

“It’s indeed an honor and privilege for our city to host the first commercial airport for the province of Pangasinan,” Braganza said.

The capital town Lingayen and Sta. Barbara had hoped to get the project.

Braganza said Phase 1 of the project alone will bring a total investment of P2.2 billion to the city.

He said the airport, which will complement the proposed seaport and the power plant in the adjacent town of Sual, would boost the industrial and tourism potentials of the province.

“Hopefully, this project will make the province accessible to commercial traffic of both people and goods, he said.

Mendoza echoed his optimism as he pointed out that “this is not just all about passengers but more importantly, there’s bigger and more traffic in cargo head.”

He added that the country is strategically located in the Asia-Pacific, making it an ideal cargo hub in the region.

“It’s really high time to have a commercial airport in Pangasinan as the smaller provinces have more than one airport, Pangasinan, thus one of the biggest provinces, therefore deserves to have one,” said Mendoza.

The Alaminos Airport Development Project was first announced in 2007 during the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

After conducting pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on the project for almost two years, the DOTC appropriated P150 million this year under its Infrastructure Program in the General Appropriations Act.

Mendoza said while the project could not be completed within the term of President Arroyo, what is important is that the groundwork for the construction of the airport is now in place.

With the signing of the MOA, an initial P150 million allocation for the land acquisition and improvement is already set to be released.—LM

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