ILOILO Gov.Arthur Defensor Jr. and South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-Hwa. (Iloilo Capitol PIO)
ILOILO CITY — Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. is pushing the proposal for direct flights between Iloilo and South Korea.
Defensor laid out the proposal during the visit of South Korean Ambassador Lee Sang-Hwa on Monday, Jan. 26.
The proposal for Iloilo-South Korea international flights was made when Defensor became governor in 2019, but did not have any developments due to the pandemic.
Defensor underscored direct flights to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, would boost regional connectivity as Iloilo is home to around 500 Koreans.
The governor said that direct flights can boost trade and tourism.
The Iloilo International Airport currently caters flights to and from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand by budget airline Cebu Pacific and Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.
Defensor also expressed optimism on the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges, which South Korea extended a loan of $56.6 million to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the detailed engineering design (DED).
Lee inspected the mega-dam project in Calinog town during his visit.
The initial construction of the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project-Stage II (JRMP-II) had an P8.2-billion loan from the Korean Export-Import Bank (KEXIM) while the contractor is Korean firm Daewoo Engineering & Construction.