Caticlan airport fee to rise to P500 by 2014

MANILA, Philippines—Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) expects to complete the first phase of its modernization of the Caticlan Airport—the country’s gateway to Boracay Island—by the second quarter.

The improvement of the facility, however, will come at a rather stiff price: SMC unit San Miguel Holdings Corp. said it plans to raise airport fees at the Caticlan Airport to P500 per passenger by 2014, from only P20 today.

In a disclosure earlier this week, San Miguel said the renovation of the Caticlan terminal building would be finished before the end of next month.

After this, it said a master plan to develop the facility, involving the expansion of the terminal and the airport’s runway to increase the number of passengers that can be handled, would be drawn up.

San Miguel Holdings owns 93 percent of Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp. (TAHDC), the company that holds the 25-year contract to rehabilitate and operate the Caticlan airport.

“The concession agreement is valid for 25 years, ending in 2034, and contemplates an increase in passenger and aeronautical fees from the current fee of P20 per passenger to P500 per passenger in 2014,” the company said.

“All fee increases are limited to a maximum equivalent to the terminal fees at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport,” it added.

The fees will be charged to help pay for the P2.5 billion expected to be spent for the Caticlan Airport rehabilitation. About P750 million of this amount will come from equity, while the rest will be borrowed funds.

San Miguel earlier acquired the company that won the contract to develop the Caticlan airport from businessman George Yang.

Due to a short runway, the Caticlan airport is able to accommodate only turbo propeller airplanes. The airport has experienced rapid growth in passenger volumes in the last decade. About 700,000 tourists pass through Caticlan airport each year.