Bacolod City – Newly-designated Regional Development Council-Negros Island Region (RDC-NIR) chairman, Governor Manuel Sagarbarria has expressed his commitment to help Negros Occidental and Siquijor to lengthen the runways of their respective airports, according to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
Lacson, who was designated as the chairperson of RDC-NIR Economic and Development Committee, disclosed over-the-weekend that the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDEV), formerly known as the National Economic Development Authority, which is the RDC secretariat, will be collating proposals to bring to the national government.
We cannot have projects unless it passes through the RDC. We will expect national funding, he added.
A P17 billion new Negros Oriental airport is also being planned by the national government, to be built in Bacong, a town adjacent to Dumaguete City.
In previous months, officials from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Finance, and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) have presented to Governor Sagarbarria the documents on the new Dumaguete Airport Development Project, which will be situated on a 270-hectare lot in Bacong town.
More road connectivity in Negros Island Region will also be pushed by the Regional Development Council of NIR, Lacson further disclosed.
While NIR will have its own budget to be included in the 2026 National Expenditure Program, he said the budget for infrastructure projects in the region will be in 2027. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds photo by tvds)