Cebu told to gear up for tourism explosion
Cebu should brace for an anticipated tourism explosion once the Mactan International Airport Terminal 2 will be operational, said Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.
Concepcion relayed his conversation with Megawide president Edgar Saavedra saying the Mactan Airport is envisioned to beat Manila.
"He [Saavedra] wants everybody to land in Cebu and take a flight to Manila, that means tourism here will explode," said Concepcion adding that it is not because the airport is nicely built but it is about the vision of what that province should be.
Being one of the successful Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) projects, Concepcion thereby further raising his advocacy in bringing back the PPP concept, which was coined by the previous administration.
The MCIA, which is under the PPP mechanism, he said is a good example that the concept is effective and brings immediate economic boost citing the huge impact the new airport will bring to Cebu’s tourism industry.
“We need to bring back PPP," Concepcion stressed further explaining that if the Duterte administration wants to see all his planned infrastructure projects to be built under his term, the President should consider PPP.
He said the government should put the build-build-build thrust into immediate action. "We got to build the airports, the bridges, the roads all of that. We have to be open to bringing back PPP."
This is the time that entrepreneurs will be given opportunity to help build the Philippines and help the government in doing so.
Concepcion further reasoned that the government leadership is only there for six years, and for everybody's knowledge, everything is bound to change if a new batch of political leaders will take over.
Economists had been expressing their positive outlook and Cebu's economic boom once the MCIA Terminal 2, which is one of the most successful PPP's, will be operational.
Economist Claro DG Cordero Jr., of the Jones Lang de LaSalle Philippines said that the opening of the Terminal 2 is seen to bring overwhelming economic movement for Cebu.
Cordero said that the opening of the MCIA terminal 2 will bring unimaginable economic boost for Cebu as foreign investors and local capitalists alike are closely watching this development.
Immediate positive effects will be seen after the opening of the P32 billion (phase 1) airport expansion, specifically in industries like tourism, food, among others.
The introduction of the worldclass airport facility Cordero added will enhance interest of investors to consider Cebu as their top choice, Cordero said.