Kalibo airport rehabilitation to begin on July 2

MANILA, Philippines – The rehabilitation and expansion of the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) in Aklan is set to begin on Monday, July 2.

In a statement on Sunday, July 1, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said the project is worth P17.9 million.

Rehabilitation work will include:

• refurbishment of the existing passenger terminal building
• repainting of the international passenger terminal building interiors
• landside beautification through landscaping
• electrical system and air-conditioning system rewiring
• enhancement of railings and barricades

The following activities, meanwhile, are targeted to start later this year:

• reblocking of apron pavement (the apron is where aircraft load or unload passengers or cargo; refuel; park; or undergo maintenance) – September 4
• runway strip grade correction – November 22
• construction of a power house – November 24

KIA is one of the two airports serving the world-famous island of Boracay, which was closed to tourists for 6 months starting April 26 while it undergoes rehabilitation.

The CAAP said it will maximize the closure period – and the subsequent reduction in flights – to fix KIA.

“The traffic and passenger movement cutback due to the ongoing Boracay Island closure from April until October this year will significantly allow several projects to be put into action,” said the CAAP.

KIA served a total of 2,520,168 passengers in 2017, with 1,093,564 of them domestic passengers and 1,426,604 international. – Rappler.com