President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday led the groundbreaking of the Caticlan Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) of the Godofredo P. Ramos Airport in Caticlan, Aklan.

According to Marcos, once completed, the new facility would open up the Philippines to more tourists who want a destination outside Manila.

“We are very happy and we are all very excited that we are slowly putting together the building blocks of our policy of opening up our areas, tourist areas, our business areas to international travelers without having to go through the Manila Airport,” he said.

He emphasized that Caticlan is a passageway to all tourist destinations.

“From here, they can go to Boracay, they can go around and see all of the tourist destinations. There are many tourist destinations. We can see all of the tourist destinations around the province and in the neighboring areas,” he said.

“And so, it is not something that is just belonging to one province, it is not — it is not just Aklan who is involved in this, it is the entire region that will be assisted by the construction of this terminal building. The influx of people, of travelers, is going to be a big boost to the local economy and, I might add, the national economy,” he added.

The construction of the new building will be done by Megawide Construction Corporation at the cost of P2.5 billion.

The PTB will be operated by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) through its subsidiary Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp. in partnership with the DoTr.

Upon completion, the PTB is expected to accommodate seven million passengers annually, enhancing travel efficiency and comfort for Boracay visitors, as well as Western Visayas tourists.

It is expected to be finished by July 2027 or earlier.

Marcos teased the SMC leadership and the Megawide constructors if they can build the facility faster than their contract.

“It is already — it is already in my schedule — 24 months, I am coming to cut the ribbon. If you can build it in 18 months. I won’t complain,” he said. “I was telling the CEO of Megawide, ‘You have no excuse because I’ve seen your other projects, you did it, even more complicated constructions than this.’ This is a relatively simple one.”