Aurora economic zone says airport funding could help attract commercial air services

THE Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) said its 2026 budget contains funds that could go towards upgrading its airport and ultimately help attract commercial air services.

“The (budget approved by the) Department of Budget and Management was only P262 million,” APECO President Gil Taway IV told reporters late Tuesday, adding that requests for additional funding during budget deliberations brought its 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) allocation to P381.54 million, up 49% from its 2025 GAA budget.

“It looks like we’ll get something for the airport. For the airport project, currently, we can currently welcome chartered flights under a one-time permit,” he said.

He added that the increased funding will also help complete infrastructure projects like the Corporate Campus development, the APECO Legacy Villas, and a central expressway.

“The moment we complete the corrective measures (for the airport) we will be issued a permit to operate. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said that if we can do the terminal building … we can transition from chartered flights to commercial operations,” he added.

The corrective measures include the delivery of fire trucks, apron markings, and fencing. The terminal is expected to cost around P31 million, according to a study in 2022 which had evaluated the requirements to accommodate a 40-60 seat turboprop aircraft.

“We also hope to save funding for an air traffic control tower,” he said.

The tower is estimated to cost P39 million, which APECO hopes to finance from savings last year.

“According to our engineering team, if we can bid out the terminal building in February, we can complete it by August to September,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said that APECO’s proposed port is not yet included in the 2026 budget, though the agency’s South Korean partner, Yooshin Engineering Corp. could end up raising funds for the project.

“They will be back here in January … They have had preliminary talks with potential funders (including) Korean banks and private equity funds,” he said.

Mr. Taway said APECO is seeking to finalize the terms for the project this year and hopes to start construction as early as the last quarter of 2027.

“The plan is (to make sure) it can accommodate the Panamax ships,” he said, referring to vessels certified to transit the Panama Canal. — Justine Irish D. Tabile