TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- The Cagayan North International Airport (CNIA) in Lal-lo, Cagayan will finally receive its first commercial flight on March 23, a government official said.
In a meeting with the Cagayan Valley Regional Development Council (RDC), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) administrator Raul Lambino announced the flight will come from Macau, China.
“We are ready to open CNIA to East Asia and the North Pacific to commercial flight,” Lambino said.
Lambino earlier said the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) will be developed into Philippine’s virtual link to other East Asian countries.
Manila-CNIA flight
Lambino also said that the first domestic flight by Cebu Pacific Air from Manila to Lal-lo town airport will follow in April.
“To get to Santa Ana, you don’t have to fly anymore to Tuguegarao City, which is a three-hour-drive to here,” he said, noting that the route will cut 45-minute travel time to Santa Ana.
Santa Ana boasts its pristine white beaches, similar to that of Boracay. The Palaui Island was also awarded by CNN as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Beaches in the world.
Lambino added that following airport upgrades, CNIA can now receive heavier Airbus 320s and Boeing 737s.
The airport upgrades done in 2017 and 2018 include the construction of the remaining runway facilities required by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for CNIA to acquire “full aerodrome certificate, and the development of the Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs) on both ends of the 2.1-km runway, and the runway strip width running along the edges of the 45-meter-wide strip.
The Precision Approach Path Indicator or PAPI, which helps pilot acquire and maintain the correct approach to an airport was also installed in January, Lambino said.
He added that all obstruction along the landing path to runway 22 has been cleared, and an additional fire truck acquired bolstering CNIA’s crash fire rescue capacity.
Step up
Lambino said they plan to build tertiary medical center, CEZA’s corporate center, convention center, boutique hotel, and a financial technologies (FinTech) park inside the special ecozone.
The elements “are vital in the development concept” for the Freeport called Global TransPark, he said.
The system would integrate transport, telecommunications, manufacturing and commercial processes, distribution, technology and education into a “seamless and efficient supply chains for tenants and user of the economic zone and Freeport.”
He added his long-term goal of developing CEZA into the “premier hub for the continuous development of these financial technologies or FinTech.”
Among the products that CEZA will grow are block chain, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and financial technologies, international coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges, he said. Northernforum.net