Kalibo airport development: Sell of private lots gains ground

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The terminal building of Kalibo International Airport in Barangay Pook in Kalibo, Aklan. The airport expansion is gaining ground as private land owners agreed to sell their lots to the national government / PHOTO BY BOY RYAN ZABAL

The ongoing negotiation between the provincial government of Aklan and the affected landowners in Kalibo International Airport (KIA) to sell their private lots for airport expansion is “running smoothly.”

Harry Formaran, former Aklan provincial treasurer and a member of the negotiating team, stressed that landowners held a meeting with them days ago regarding the proposed sell of more or less three hectares of irrigated lands.

The private lots will be used for the expanded parking area of Kalibo airport to accommodate wide-bodied commercial aircraft. It will be constructed near the existing KIA fire bureau station.

Formaran said it would take the Provincial Treasurer’s Office to pay at least 16 land owners about two weeks, if their documents are completed.

The purchase of expropriated lands in Kalibo airport is funded by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC). 

The government will buy their lots for P600 per square meter. The price for the properties agreed upon is reasonable, he added.

Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores, in radio interviews, said expansion of Kalibo airport will open doors for other regional flights.

Air Asia Malaysia is considering the Kalibo International Airport as its major hub as it will begin offering direct four weekly flights between Kalibo and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia beginning on April 18, 2014.

The airport is located in Barangay Pook in Kalibo, Aklan, which is ten minutes from the town proper.