The House of Representatives has approved a bill which calls for the construction of a second runway at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport with its concomitant Access Taxiways and Rapid Exit Taxiways (RET), Runway Lighting Systems, and Navigational/Landing Equipment.
House Bill 149 of Cebu City Rep. Raul del Mar provides for the construction and establishment, under the supervision of the Department of Transportation, through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, a second aerodrome runway of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in the City of Lapu-Lapu, in the province of Cebu. The bill was approved on second reading and will be passed on third and final reading when Congress resumes session in May.
Under the bill, the DOTr, in coordination with the MCIAA, shall finance and conduct the feasibility studies and the formulation of the detailed engineering designs, standards, and specifications of the proposed runway as well as the concomitant access taxiways and rapid exit taxiways (RET), runway lighting systems, navigational/landing equipment, and other appurtenances as may be necessary for the effective implementation of the Act.
Del Mar said in his bill that the Secretary of Transportation shall include in the DOTr’s programs the procurement, construction, operationalization and maintenance of the second runway at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The Mactan (Cebu) International Airport is located in Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City. The airport is about 600 kilometers away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and serves as the southern hub of the air transportation system of the country. It is a vital international gateway to the country’s economic prosperity.
It started operations in the mid-1960s as the replacement of the Lahug Airport, which was situated within Cebu City and had no more room for expansion due to safety and physical constraints.
Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) was created through Republic Act 6958, enacted on July 31, 1990. The MCIAA, a government-owned and controlled corporation, is an attached agency of the DOTr. The MCIAA shall principally undertake the economic, efficient and effective control, management and supervision of the Mactan (Cebu) International Airport, and other airports that may be established in the future.
MCIA has gone a long way since the time the MCIAA was created in 1990 up to the present. In 1991, the airport handled a total of 1,459,669 passenger movements and 23,281 aircraft movements. In 2012, the passenger movements throughout reached 6,771,318 with 58,888 aircraft movements. As of October 2010, MCIA has 419 departing domestic flights per week and 69 departing international flights per week, up to 140 aircraft movements per day.