Capitol officials leave for South Korea

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is set to leave today for a one-week official trip to the South Korean capital of Seoul and Gangwon Province.

Garcia will be accompanied by Provincial Board Members Victor Maambong, Juan Bolo, Carmiano Kintanar, Teresita Celis and Alfred Francis Ouano, Department of Tourism regional director Dawnie Roa and Cebu Association of Tour Operators president Alice Queblatin.

The trip to Gangwon is upon invitation by its governor, Kim Jin-sun, during the 2005 East Asia Inter-regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) held at Jilin Province in China.

The invitation was part of EATOF's objective to promote inter-provincial tourism cooperation among countries throughout East Asia. During the visit, a tourism agreement between Cebu and Gangwon will be sealed.

The Gangwon visit, which will last until March 2, is an all-expense paid trip by the Gangwon provincial government.

From March 2 to 4, the Cebu officials will visit the Korea Electric Power Corporation's power plant in Seoul. KEPPCO's officials shouldered the travel and accommodation expenses.

Apparently, KEPPCO wanted to showcase its power plant as it invested $250 million for the construction of a thermal power project in Naga town.

KEPPCO's sister company, the Korea Electric Philippines Corporation, has partnered with Salcon Power Corporation for the implementation of the Naga project, which has been opposed by some residents of the town and environment groups for its alleged bad effects to the environment.

The groundbreaking for the plant was conducted in November and no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended the event.

Set for completion in 2008, the power plant is expected to provide 200 megawatts of additional power to Salcon's existing 110-MW capacity plant.

The Cebu officials will be back in the country on March 5. - Cristina C. Birondo