Source:  Philippine Star

BORACAY ISLAND, Philippines (Xinhua) – President Benigno Aquino III today led the inauguration of the Caticlan Airport renovation in Aklan province in Western Visayas.

Aquino said the renovation of the new airport through the Private Public Partnership (PPP) could boost the tourism industry in the country.

“We welcome this project of the TransAir Development Holdings Corporation and at the same time we welcome the future undertakings of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC),” Aquino said.

The SMC is the largest stakeholder of the TransAir as they undertake the management of the project for 25 years under the built, operate and transfer scheme. The Department of Transportation and Communication had approved their 25 billion peso (576 million US dollars) development plan.

According to Ramon Ang, president and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corp., the whole airport project will cost around 300 million US dollars.

Boracay island is located approximately 315 km south of Manila. In 1990, it was voted by the BMW Tropical Beach Handbook as one of the best beaches in the world and again in 1996 by British publication TV Quick as the world’s No. 1 tropical beach.