The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) plans to optimize the revived Zamboanga-Kota Kinabalu flights of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) to promote the shipment of halal and agricultural products to Malaysia.
For the inaugural flight of PAL’s Zamboanga-Kota Kinabalu air route on March 31, 2020, the authority intends to send Mindanao-produced halal food products, including chevon, beef, and mango, MinDA secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
PAL will be utilizing a Bombardier 400 wd 86-seater aircraft with flight schedule of Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Zamboanga to Kota Kinabalu (8:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m.) and then from Kota Kinabalu to Zamboanga (10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), according to Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Business Council Sabah Chapter chairman Carl Moosom.
Piñol said the revival of the route is expected to boost economic and trade activities between Mindanao and Malaysia, and MinDA plans to optimize the new route by organizing missions to bring in more business and trade interests to Mindanao.
“The agency is also organizing an agri-trade delegation to explore other agricultural supply opportunities for Mindanao products, especially those coming from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,” Piñol said.
He added that MinDA “will be arranging packaged tours between Mindanao and Sabah to sustain the air service.”
“We will also promote the shipment of goods like fruits such as Cavendish banana and mango to Sabah, including Halal food like goat meat and beef,” Piñol said.
The Zamboanga-Kota Kinabalu air link is the second route to be opened by PAL in the BIMP-EAGA Area. The new air connectivity is also a major BIMP-EAGA project between the transport cluster and the joint tourism development cluster.
Earlier, PAL announced that it will also serve the Davao-Manado, North Sulawesi route, which was earlier reopened by Garuda Indonesia.
The BIMP-EAGA covers the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua in Indonesia; the federal states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.
Established in 1994, the BIMP-EAGA was formed to “spur economic development in the lagging subeconomies” by narrowing the development gaps among its member-states.
Despite the member subeconomies being located in different countries, one of BIMP-EAGA’s advantages is the close proximity of its focus areas.
