Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the Philippine government secured about P13 billion in loans from the South Korean government to finance the new Dumaguete Airport Development project.

Recto and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) Chairman and President Yoon Hee-sung signed on Wednesday, Aug. 7, a financial agreement that will lend P13.15 billion to the Philippine government to fund the new Dumaguete City Airport, which is estimated to cost P17.06 billion.

“The new airport will enhance our capacity to welcome a surge of tourists in the post-pandemic era. With the new Dumaguete airport, we anticipate accommodating up to 2.5 million passengers per year, up from just 800,000. From serving limited domestic flights, we can now open the door to international routes,” Recto said.

The new Dumaguete City Airport project will cover 197.55 hectares of land development in the Municipality of Bacong, Negros Oriental, to construct a new airport facility that complies with domestic and international standards for operational safety and efficiency.

“The necessity for a bigger and more modern airport is undeniable, especially considering that Negros Oriental currently has only one major airport,” he said.

The finance chief also secured $3 billion from KEXIM to fund the new Economic Development Promotion Facility (EDPF), which will serve as an additional financial bridge to implement the government’s infrastructure projects.

“The facility we have signed today with South Korea will enable us to deliver more infrastructure projects nationwide, from roads and bridges to disaster risk reduction efforts,” he said.

The new facility will consider the funding the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges; the Consolacion-Liloan Bypass Road Project; the Lapu-Lapu Coastal Road Project of the DPWH; and the Pampanga Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Project Phase II.

The financing for the new Dumaguete Airport project carries interest rates of 0.05 percent per year for non-consulting services and 0.0 percent per annum for consulting services, to be repaid in 40 years, inclusive of a 10-year grace period.

Meanwhile, the individual financing of projects to be lined up under the EDPF will carry an indicative interest rate of 1.2 percent, to be repaid in 25 years, inclusive of a 7-year grace period.

Recto also assured that the Department of Finance (DOF) will “see to it that we monitor and personally visit the projects to ensure their timely completion.”

He also thanked the South Korean government, noting that “these strategic investments that you are generously supporting will certainly underpin all our efforts to build an economy that is truly inclusive for our people—one that secures the future of every Filipino child.”

Present during the event were Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista; DOTr Undersecretatries Timothy Batan and Roberto Lim; DOF Undersecretary Joven Balbosa; National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Joseph J. Capuno; and Department of Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Leah Victoria T. Carada.

Also in attendance were KEXIM Director General Kim Kyung-Lin; KEXIM-EDCF Country Director Seo Jung Won; Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio B. Remollo; and Bacong, Negros Oriental Mayor Lenin Alviola of Bacong.