With the decades-old Tagbilaran City Airport out of the picture, the vast 28-hectare lot of the facility located right in the heart of the province’s capital city is now deemed a potential hub for commercial development.

Various proponents including the local government under Governor Edgar Chatto are looking into the possibility of turning the area into an IT (information technology) park, initially dubbed Bohol Business Park.

The proposed mix-used development is seen to house commercial spaces and entertainment centers such as a convention center and a coliseum.

Based on information gathered by the Chronicle, 6.5 hectares of the former airport’s lot is owned by the provincial government while the rest was acquired by the national government through the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

In an earlier interview, Tagbilaran Mayor Baba Yap confirmed that the government is considering to convert the then-operating airport into a business park after airline operations are transferred to Panglao.

Developers will already be allowed to build tall structures after the Tagbilaran City Airport is shut down.

Height restriction of buildings within the city will be less stringent as air traffic is diverted to the new airport in Panglao, said Yap.

Prior to the opening of the Bohol Panglao International Airport (BPIA), the tallest buildings across Tagbilaran City only reached up to five stories as the city was the direct airline pathway to the runway of the now-defunct airport.

The national government through CAAP ordered the shut down of the Tagbilaran City Airport, which has been Bohol’s main gateway since the 1960’s, during the inauguration of the BPIA on November 27.