Seafood processing plant reopens
TWENTY tons of bangus, due for export to the United States, has been lined up for processing when the Seafood Processing Plant in Barangay Bonuan Binloc finally re-opens on May 14 for a “trial run”.
The “trial-run” operation will only proceed, however, if the new memorandum of agreement between city government and BFAR officials is signed.
Dr. Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology and Development Center (NIFTDC) and appointed manager of the processing plant, said Dagupan Mayor Benjamin Lim earlier approved the resumption of operation after a series of meetings with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) officials led by Director Asis Perez.
The newly constructed plant, which is owned by Dagupan City but has been placed under the BFAR’s management, has been in hiatus since October last year after Lim questioned its operation supposedly for lack of a business permit, a requirement that was later established by city hall to be unnecessary for the publicly-owned facility.
Rosario said concerned officials reiterated to the mayor that the plant’s equipment would further deteriorate and damaged if left idle much longer.
COME AND SEE
Meanwhile, Rosario said he has invited exporters to observe the plant’s resumption of operations and appreciate its potential for their bangus products to reach international markets.
The plant, built by a P100-million grant from the South Korean government through the Korean International Cooperation Agency, can process five tons of fish, particularly bangus, daily.
In June 2010, the city council passed a resolution turning over to BFAR the plant’s management and operation for five years on the basis that the city government does not have neither the expertise nor the manpower to do so.
This was later questioned by Lim when he took the helm of the city administration in July 2010 and sought to revert the management back to the city government.—Eva Visperas
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
