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Marcos Jr. inaugurates Mactan airport’s second runway

By: Morexette Marie B. Erram - CDN Digital Senior Multimedia Reporter | January 30,2025 - 06:55 PM

MCIA second runway

President Bongbong Marcos leads the ceremonial ribbon cutting of the second runway of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), his last event for his visit in Cebu on Thursday, Jan. 30. He is accompanied by Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, and MCIAA General Manager Julius Neri Jr. | Photo by RTVM

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is set to welcome more passengers and airplanes as it inaugurated its second runway on Thursday, January 30, with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. leading the ceremony.

Marcos was in Cebu on Thursday for several official trips. It was also the President’s first visit to Cebu for the year 2025.

Before returning to Manila, Marcos led the inauguration of the MCIA’s second runway which cost P2.55-billion and is the first parallel runway in the country.

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He was accompanied by a delegation of national and local government officials as well as airport stakeholders.

The ceremony began around 2 p.m. with a ribbon cutting on the runway itself.

The President was riding on the back of the pick-up truck with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, MCIA Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Julius Neri Jr. as they inspected the entire length of the new runway.

In his speech, Marcos congratulated airport officials for taking the initiative of improving MCIA.

“For the first time in our nation’s aviation history, we embark on a major repair of an airport’s first runway without impeding ongoing operations. It is a testament to what passion for excellence, meticulous preparation, and consistent efforts can achieve,” he said.

“And as I was commenting to the Governor (Garcia) on our way over here, nauna na naman, inunahan na naman ng Cebu ang Maynila dahil matagal na nating pinaplano ‘yung sa Maynila. Pinag- uusapan pa lang ‘yung sa Maynila, tapos na ‘yung nandito sa Cebu Mactan,” he added.

Construction of the P2-billion second runway began in 2020 however, like most infrastructure projects, it suffered significant delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Funding came from the MCIAA and the private operator co-running the airport.

Civil works finished in 2023, and  commissioning ongoing to ensure operations will go smoothly and safely.

MCIAA aims to finish commissioning of the second runway within May this year.

After which, they will use it as an “alternate runway” since they plan to rehabilitate the existing one.

Neri told media that it’s high-time for the old runway to undergo renovations and improvements, having been built by the Americans in 1966.

The rehabilitation of the first runway will likely last for a year, he added.

Increased capacity

The MCIA second runway was intended to increase the capacity of the airport, the country’s second busies gateway.

It was constructed in parallel with the first runway – earning the name “the Parallel Runway” – albeit with a slightly shorter length at 2.6 kilometers.

Presently, the airport can accommodate 30 aircraft movements per hour with the lone, existing runway.

But with the MCIA second runway, they can process up to 40 aircraft movements per hour, said Neri.

“But it will be a parallel runway because we cannot do landing and takeoffs simultaneously. One runway will be for landing, the other will be for takeoff,” he explained.

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TAGS: Mactan airport, MCIA, second runway
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