With new airport soon, Medellin offers home to aviation schools

Medellin Mayor Benjun Mondigo gives Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) officials led by Lawyer Steve Dicdican a tour of the proposed site of the town’s airport in Barangay Caputatan Sur. | Photos courtesy of the Municipality of Medellin, Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The local government of Medellin in northern Cebu is hoping to accommodate aviation schools once its proposed airport project in Barangay Caputatan Sur becomes operational.

“Once the airport will be operational, we are looking forward to aviation schools here in Cebu to have their actual flying lessons here in Medellin,” said Mayor Benjun Mondigo.

Mondigo said they would also want the town’s airport to serve commercial flights after a few years of operations.

“We are envisioning it to become an airport that can cater to commercial flights that will help boost our economy here, particularly our tourism industry,” he said.

Town officials led by Mondigo have already started discussions with officials of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) led by Lawyer Steve Dicdican, the airport’s general manager and CEO, to ensure the realization of the project.

In a phone interview with CDN Digital on Sunday, September 27, Mondigo said that they already scheduled a monthly meeting with MCIAA officials for a status update after they made a commitment to start the airport’s feasibility study and provided technical assistance during its implementation.

READ: MCIAA set to start feasibility study for Medellin airport project

Mondigo said that they had already prepared a government-owned lot in Barangay Caputatan Sur as the site of the planned airport.

However, Mondigo said that project implementation had still “a long way to go.”

“We still don’t have a definite timeline of the project but we’re hoping we can get a jumpstart by 2021,” said Mondigo in a mix of Cebuano and English.

Mondigo said that they considered as a major challenge the acquisition of nearby lots that were needed for the project implementation.

The airport project, he said, would require at least 30-hectares of land but their Caputatan property had only 15 hectares or half of the project’s requirement.

“We already bought 15 hectares of land for the airport but after further consultation from MCIAA and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), we agreed to have at least 30 hectares in order to accommodate not only the runway but also the necessary buildings to suit turboprop aircrafts,” the mayor said. / dcb