7 September 2011—The Philippines and the Republic of Korea (ROK) signed today a loan arrangement for the Laguindingan Airport Air-Navigation System and Support Facilities Supply Project in ceremonies held at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Signing for both countries were Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario and ROK Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Hye-min. The event was witnessed by officials from the DFA, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the ROK Embassy.

The agreement will enable the Philippines to secure a loan of up to US$13,293,000 under Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), for the airport’s Air Navigation System (ANS) and support facilities.

These would include, among others, the acquisition of instrument landing system, Doppler VHF omnidirectional radio system, airfield lighting system, air traffic control communication system and automated weather observation system, among others. It will be implemented by the DOTC.

In his remarks, Secretary del Rosario highlighted the importance of the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental, which will serve as a major trunk line airport for the booming Cagayan-Iligan Corridor. The airport is expected to be completed by 2012.

“Laguindingan Airport will meet the region’s growing air transportation demand, and boost economic activity not only for Region 10, but indeed, for the entire northern Mindanao,” he said.

“Significantly, this project was one of the first to be approved during the very first NEDA Board Meeting held under the Aquino Administration, in 2010. The project is therefore symbolic of the President’s commitment to achieving inclusive growth, as well as to his Administration’s desire to spur development in Mindanao to greater heights,” Secretary del Rosario added.

The Foreign Affairs Secretary stated that the loan is emblematic of the increasingly strategic partnership that the Philippine and Korean Governments have embarked on, particularly in the economic field.

“Sixty years since we established ties and paid the ultimate sacrifice in the battlegrounds of the Korean War, it is our hope that our two nations will continue to harness their extensive complementarities and synergies, and foster a relationship that lives up to these auspicious beginnings,” he said. END