With the BCDA approval of the TOR and the budget for the design project, the Poro Point Management Corp., a subsidiary of BCDA, can now push through with the bidding and eventual award of the contract to an engineering design consultant.

The detailed engineering design contract for the San Fernando Airport will determine the needed physical and navigational aspects of the planned development, as well as the consultant’s deliverables, project cost estimates and detailed plans, among others, to enable the airport to accommodate bigger planes. The design is expected to be finished late this year.

"This is a major step towards the development of San Fernando Airport in particular and the Poro Point Special Economic Zone in general," said BCDA Chairman Filadelfo Rojas Jr. "With an upgraded airport, more investors and tourists would come to Poro Point and La Union."

The BCDA is positioning Poro Point as a major entertainment and tourism hub in Northern Luzon because of its strategic location. Aside from the San Fernando airport, Poro Point also hosts a commercial seaport, an industrial zone and an entertainment center.

The current airport is currently served by at least one commercial airliner, Asian Spirit. However, the airport can only accommodate smaller turbo prop airplanes that carry a maximum of 60 passengers, while 737s have a 200-seat capacity.

Poro Point’s vast entertainment and tourism potential is underscored by the fact that La Union boasts some of the country’s finest beaches, and is a mere one hour drive to Baguio City. It is also a short distance away from the famed Hundred Islands in Pangasinan by sea, while the pilgrim town of Agoo and Manaoag are also close by.