The city council has given Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. the green light to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KICA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for the construction of the proposed Bangus Processing Plant in Dagupan City.

KICA is giving a $2 million grant for the project initiated during the previous administration of former Mayor Benjamin Lim.

Councilor Alfie Fernandez, chair of the council’s committee on trade and industry, who proposed the resolution granting the mayor the authority to sign the MOA, said the Bangus Processing Plant will be a big boon for the city, particularly for the development of its export sector.

The plant is envisioned to process the bangus (milkfish), the city’s primary and most popular produce, as well as other aquaculture products from Pangasinan.

The grant from KICA was negotiated by House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. last year with the Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and Foreign Minister of Korea, but which the Lim administration reportedly did not actively pursue.

Councilor Fernandez said aside from earning much needed foreign exchange for the country, the processing plant will also provide employment to about 100 residents and help stimulate allied industries.

Bangus, tilapia, siganid and p. vannamei white shrimp are raised here in brackish water (a combination of fresh water coming from the upland and salty water from the Lingayen Gulf).

The Korean grant does not require a counterpart fund from the local government, but the contract requires officials to make sure that the project will be viable.—LM

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