The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) targets undertaking this year repair and maintenance work on three of its eight regional fish port complexes (FPCs) nationwide to help enhance such facilities’ operations and quality of fishery produce unloaded and processed there.
PFDA Technical Services Department manager Rodrigo Bulaon said the PFCs are in Zamboanga del Sur, Davao City and Sual in Pangasinan.
Work on such FPCs will require funding of about P47 million, he noted.
”We need P25 million, P15 million and P7 million for the planned work in Zamboanga, Davao and Sual FPCs, respectively,” he said.
Bulaon said PFDA is requesting such funding from the Department of Agriculture, its mother agency.
The repair and maintenance work is among activities under PFDA’s Regional Fish Ports Program (RFPP).
Through RFPP, PFDA establishes and operates FPCs in strategic locations nationwide to help address post-harvest needs of commercial fishing boat operators, municipal fisherfolk, fish processors, exporters and other players in the fishing industry.
Such FPCs are equipped with landing quays, market halls, ice plants and other facilities for accommodating and processing fishery produce unloaded there.
Bulaon noted an ice plant’s size will depend on the volume of fishery produce which such facility is expected to serve.
”To maintain freshness, one kilogram of ice is needed per kilogram of fishery produce,” he said.
He said building an ice plant for such purpose requires funding of at least P1 million per ton of fishery produce served.
Building such facility is among activities under PFDA’s Ice Plants and Cold Storages (IPCS) Program.
PFDA reported operating 20 IPCS facilities in several fishing centers nationwide.
Eleven of such facilities are on lease to the private sector, PFDA noted.
Aside from the FPCs in Zamboanga, Davao and Pangasinan, PFDA operates regional fish ports in Quezon, Iloilo and Camarines Sur provinces as well as in General Santos City and Metro Manila’s Navotas.
At least P500 million is needed to build one FPC, Bulaon said.
”The cost could go higher – possibly even reaching P1 billion – depending on facilities to be provided in the FPC,” he added.
Earlier, PFDA made plans of turning over this year to local government units (LGUs) concerned several municipal fish ports (MFPs) across the country.
Bulaon said such fish ports are in Luzon’s Bulacan and Camarines Norte provinces, in the Visayas’ Romblon, Capiz, Iloilo and Bohol provinces as well as in Mindanao’s Sulu province.
“The turnover is in line with PFDA’s MFP program,” he said.
PFDA established this program to help address post-harvest requirements of fisherfolk nationwide by providing in strategic locations fish ports with smaller fish landing and market facilities.
“We train LGU personnel on port operations and maintenance in preparation for turning over such to local governments concerned,” Bulaon said.
Latest available data show PFDA already turned over more than 70 MFPs to LGUs concerned.
Citing PFDA’s updated costing analysis, Bulaon said the average cost to build one MFP is about P10 million.
For 2011, PFDA earlier planned building one MFP each in Capiz and Romblon provinces.
Studies project the Romblon MFP to handle some eight metric tons (MTs) of fishery produce daily, Bulaon noted.
He also said at least five MTs of fishery produce per day is projected to be unloaded at the planned new Capiz MFP.
Bulaon noted PFDA likewise targets turning over to Capiz this year one MFP which the agency already built.
The agency is seeking funds from DA to build the MFPs planned for this year.
PFDA constructs MFPs as part of its mandate to promote efficiency in handling, distributing and enhancing quality of fishery produce in the country. [PNA]
