Laguindingan International Airport

Laguindingan International Airport (Filipino: "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Laguindingan", Cebuano: "Tugpahanang Internasyonal sa Laguindingan") is an international airport designed to serve the general areas of Cagayan de Oro City of Misamis Oriental and Iligan City of Lanao del Norte in the Philippines. The airport will primarily replace the existing Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro, but is also expected to replace Maria Cristina Airport in Iligan City. It is a flagship project of the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor special development project, which covers both the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, as well as five coastal towns in Lanao del Norte, and in the 21 towns especially El Salvador City and Gingoog City of Misamis Oriental's first and second congressional districts.

The airport sits on a 4.17 square kilometre site in Barangay Moog, Lagundingan, [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view_article.php?article_id=78062 Waiting for the flight from Laguindingan] , Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 22, 2007] and is located 46 kilometers from the existing Lumbia Airport. Upon completion, it will be the fourth international airport in Mindanao, after General Santos International Airport in General Santos City, Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and Zamboanga International Airport, as well as the first international airport in Northern Mindanao, or Region X.

Background

Plans for the airport have existed since 1991, but have been stymied by land acquisition and financing problems. Although the Philippine government has signed a US$25 million soft loan agreement with the South Korean government through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund, there has been difficulty in raising counterpart funding for acquisition of the estimated 300 hectares of land eventually required by the airport complex.

The Laguindingan International Airport project was inaugurated on January 11, 2006 with groundbreaking ceremonies presided by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who advocated the idea of an international airport in the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Corridor. [http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2006/01/11/news/arroyo.to.inaugurate.int.l.airport.project.html Arroyo to inaugurate int'l airport project] , Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, January 11, 2006]

ee also

*List of airports in the Philippines
*Lumbia Airport

References