Iloilo's former airport, Manduriao Airport, occupied the site from 1937 until late 2011. In the 1990s, Mandurriao Airport was plagued with a myriad of problems such as outdated facilities and amenities, poor passenger comfort, operation limitations due to many obstacles, and limited expandability. The airport complex likewise was located directly alongside major city thoroughfares, in particular the city's main highway, the Tomas Confesor Highway, which complicated the flow of traffic in and around the area. At one point, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, then known as "Philippine Air Transportation Office", which was already having difficulty managing vehicular traffic around the airport, proposed banning cargo and delivery trucks from passing through the road in front of the terminal building. However, the city government did not respond. This prompted authorities to have a new airport built outside Iloilo City, eventually selecting the municipality of Cabatuan for the new airport. The site of Iloilo International Airport is close to Barangay Tiring, where a World War II airfield formerly stood. The airport's terminal building, built in 1982, was left abandoned after the airport's closure and stood for many years alongside the control tower. Sometime between 2012-2013, the airport's terminal was demolished after the entire airport complex was acquired by MegaWorld. The control tower was left untouched and serves as a monument to Iloilo's aviation history and Philippine aviation history as well as a homage to Pope John Paul II's 1981 visit to the Philippines, as Iloilo was one of his destinations in his 1981 itinerary and Iloilo's airport that year was in Mandurriao.
The state-of-the-art convention center designed by Ilonggo architect, William Coscolluela. The design was inspired by Iloilo’s Dinagyang and Paraw Regatta festivals. The paraw is a native double outrigger sailboat in the Visayas region, used in the annual Paraw Regatta Festival sailboat race. Abstract designs of the famous Dinagyang Festival are featured on the glass walls of the center. It is a two-storey structure with a total floor area of. The main hall on the ground floor has a 3,700-seat capacity and 500-seat function rooms on the second floor. A rooftop of is available for outdoor functions.
Inauguration
President Benigno Aquino III led the inauguration on September 14, 2015. Senator Franklin Drilon who was instrumental in the realization of this project introduced the president and also gave his message. Congressman Jerry Trenas, Governor Arthur Defensor, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog led the local officials who welcomed President Aquino. Also in attendance are Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez whose departments contributed to the project construction.
APEC Meetings
meetings scheduled at the center include: 1. Small and Medium Enterprise ministerial meeting on September 21–25 2. Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum on September 22–23 3. High-Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and the Blue Economy and Related Meetings on September 28 to October 6, 2015
