SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will pursue the upgrading of the existing airport into a regional airport and the conversion of the existing seaport into an international port to help boost the development potentials of Northern Luzon as a national food basket in the future.
Vivencio Dizon, BCDA president and chief executive officer, said the studies for the upgrading of the Poro Point international airport into a regional airport is still underway while the State corporation will work on the potentials of the existing seaport to be converted into an international port to boost the trading of products in the local and international markets.
“We are in the process of putting things in order. We will try to come out with a comprehensive development plan for the Poro Point airport, the seaport, and the identified economic zone within six to eight months and we will pursue whatever the development plan will be for the benefit of the people in the Northern Luzon area,” Dizon stressed.
Poro Point was a recipient of a P50 million grant from the Private Public Partnership (PPP) Center for the conduct of a feasibility study on the type of development that will be undertaken to maximize the utilization of the BCA property to boost the economic growth in the Northern Luzon area in the future.
Dizon said the thrust of the present administration is to maximize the development potentials of identified growth areas to generate additional employment and increase sources of livelihood for the people within the communities surrounding the identified economic zones to improve the economic growth in the countryside.
According to him, BCDA is inclined to pursue its mandate of improving the state of the former American military bases in the different parts of the country through the implementation of appropriate development projects that will contribute to enhancing the economy of places around the zones to improve the economic activities of the people in the said areas.
The BCDA official underscored Poro Point is a strategic economic zone within the Ilocos Region that will serve as a significantly improve economic activities because of the presence of an international airport and a seaport that will spur international trading once development projects shall have been put in place.
One of the recommendations for Poro Point airport is the widening of the runways to accommodate bigger and larger commercial planes that will be flying in to the Northern Luzon area with tourists and increase the trading of products of local traders.
Dizon asserted the put up of more airports and seaports in the countryside will definitely help boost the economic growth of the areas surrounding the key infrastructure facilities.
By HENT
