MikeLigalig.com

By June S. Blanco

South Korea is keen on funding the feasibility studies (FS) and advanced
detailed engineering design (ADED) of the next batch of mega projects Gov. Erico
Aumentado wants to implement.

  Aumentado gave this observation on his return from a one-week trip to South Korea.
  The governor was a resource person at the 15th East and Southeast Asia (ESEA)
International Conference in Gumi City on November 1-3. But he flew to Seoul as
early as October 28 to meet with top honchos of the Korea International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the
Korea Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank) the following day.

  He also met with Philippine Airlines (PAL) general sales agents (GSAs) and tour
operators in Seoul and Pusan to campaign for tourists and lay the groundwork for
chartered direct flights from Incheon and Pusan to Tagbilaran City, and top brass
of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. to campaign for investments.
  The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) of Singapore and the Local Government
Development Foundation (LOGODEF) that organized the conference sponsored the
governor’s trip including his two-way airfare.

  Investment promotion  In his meeting with KOICA Executive Director Lee Hae-kyoon,
the latter agreed to grant Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding for the
FS and ADED of the Bohol Port to Port Highway that goes from the Tubigon Port to
Jagna Port through the Tubigon-Sagbayan-Carmen-Sierra Bullones-Jagna Road, the
Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 3 and the Bohol Agricultural Master Plan-Small
Water Impounding (BAMP-SWIM) Projects in Barangay Bonotbonot in Buenavista,
Barangay Hibale in Danao town and in the Loboc Valley.

  More importantly, Aumentado said, KOICA agreed in principle, and subject to
compliance of requirements, to also fund the FS and ADED of the Panglao Island
Sewerage and Drainage System.

  On the other hand, EDCF Director General Hak Soo Kim agreed in principle also to
fund the ambitious multi-access Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge to accelerate the
development of Bohol and Cebu, the Central  Visayas premier provinces.

  “We have, however, to follow the requirements of KOICA and EDCF,” the governor said.
  Meanwhile, he said, Hanjin is considering setting up its shipyard for the Visayas
in Bohol, subject to the requirement of a 200-megawatt power plant, and to fly
Korean Airlines to Panglao  Bohol International  Airport once it will be
operational in 2011.

  Aumentado had met President and Chief Executive Officer Kang-Rock Lee of Hanjin
that owns Korean Airlines (KAL) and Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd.

  Next to Subic in Luzon, Hanjin has been mulling the establishment of a shipyard in
Villanueva and Tagoloan towns of Misamis Oriental in Mindanao. While the plan has
not miscarried, he said it is “on the rocks” as Hanjin has been apparently
buffeted by bureaucratic red tape compounded by the threat coming from the New
People’s Army (NPA).

  As such, he offered Bohol to be an alternative or additional shipyard site.
  However, Hanjin needs a minimum of 200 megawatts for the shipyard. Aumentado will
meet the Senior Vice President of the National Power Corp. next week to discuss
the nitty-gritty of getting additional power to meet the Hanjin shipyard
requirements.

  When the shipyard is operational, it will need around 30,000 welders, he said,
  Tourism promotion  The proposed chartered direct flights from Pusan and Incheon in
December met a snag.

  This after tour operators in Pusan and Seoul reported that two GSAs have been
monopolizing the Bohol tourist traffic from both airports to the Philippines,
leaving the South Koreans with no choice but shell out fare at very expensive
rates – almost equal to that of a trip from the Philippines to the United States.
  They also reported the relatively high rates of accommodations, food and services
of hotels and resorts here.

  Tourism Director and Attache Maricon Basco-Ebron attended the Seoul meeting with
PAL GSA Kim Ki Tae.
  International conference  At the ESEA Conference, Aumentado spoke on the Role of
Local Government Units in the Promotion of International Tourism and Foreign
Investment. He also moderated on the presentation of Vietnam on its tourism and
foreign investment program.

  His invitation as paper writer for the conference forms part of his prize for
bagging the Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence (KAME) in 2006 for steering Bohol
into the highly performing province that it is now – “and in recognition of my
humble role for Bohol’s peace initiatives and economic development.”

  Recommendations  To reduce the airfare from Incheon and Pusan to the Philippines
to make Philippine tourism globally competitive in so far as Korean tourism is
concerned, Aumentado, in his after-activity report to President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, and to Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and
Undersecretary Rolando Acosta, recommended to push for the open sky policy.

  He also recommended to push the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Technical Board and the NEDA Board to fast
track the approval of the ODA grants for the Bohol projects by KOICA and EDCF in
order that the FSs and the ADEDs for BHIP 3 and BAMP, the Port to Port Highway
Project, the Panglao Sewerage and Drainage System Project as well as the Multi
Access Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge Project will be funded by KOICA and EDCF,
respectively, the soonest possible time so that the implementation thereof can be
undertaken immediately after the administration of President Arroyo.

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