BAGUIO CITY—The Special Committee on the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle must prioritize the full operation of the Loakan airport, the expansion of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the completion of the inner and outer circumferential roads within the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) area to help spur economic growth in the region, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said here recently.
Domogan said since Baguio is the jump-off point for tourists visiting the various tourist destinations in the region, there is an urgent need to reopen the Loakan airport to accommodate commercial flights after installing an instrument landing system.
Airlines stopped scheduling flights to Loakan airport more than eight years ago because their planes had difficulty in maneuvering, especially during bad weather with zero visibility and what they saw as the inadequate length and width of the runway to serve bigger passenger and commercial planes.
Domogan urged the government to find a second location for an expansion of the PEZA because numerous investors want to locate in the ecozone but it is full.
Doing so will spur economic growth in other areas by creating jobs and increasing revenues for local governments, he said.
Domogan asked the committee to help fund the completion of the interior and exterior circumferential road networks in the BLISTT to enable investors to move outside the city.
While most portions of the interior circumferential road network of the BLISTT are complete, he said, the exterior road network leading to potential ecotourism destinations in the different parts of the region must be finished soon.
“We hope our national leaders will provide the required funding for our various road networks and pave the way for economic growth in the countryside,” Domogan said.
The Cordillera has scenic tourist spots and unexplored destinations for foreign and domestic nature-lovers.