Dumaguete airport project secures Korean funding

CEBU, Philippines —  The Philippine government has secured a funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for a new airport project in Dumaguete City.

In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance said the $100 million financing for the New Dumaguete Airport Development Project is among the three immediate projects on the pipeline endorsed for official development assistance (ODA) funding by South Korea.

The three projects which include the Dumaguete airport have a total combined cost of $191 million.

The South Korean government has pledged up to $1 billion in ODA from 2017 to 2022 to the Philippines under the Duterte administration.

During President Duterte's official in South Korea earlier this week, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III met with Korea Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Dong Yeon.  

The first project to be funded by the $1-billion ODA under the Philippines-Korea Framework Arrangement is the New Cebu International Container Port, with the DOF and the Export Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund (KEXIM-EDCF) signing a $172.64 million loan agreement for this project.

The Framework Arrangement was signed last month between the Philippines and Korea, which has committed to double its ODA from $500 million from 2011 to 2013 to $1 billion from 2017 to 2022.

This new airport project will eventually replace the air gateway in Sibulan, which is located north of Dumaguete.

Meanwhile, the New Panglao International Airport in Bohol is also expected to start operations in August.

The Terminal 2 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport will likewise start operations by July 1.