ESTABLISHMENT of a first-ever Seafood Processing Facility here through a U.S. 2.2 million dollar grant from the Korean government is coming soon following the signing of the Record of Discussion (ROD) regarding the project in Quezon City last week.

The $2.2 million grant was sought by then House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan, from the Speaker of the Korean Parliament sometime in 2006.

In behalf of the Korean government, Kim In, resident representative of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), signed the ROD with Dagupan City Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, representing the Philippine Government.

The signing took place last February 14 at the DA central office.
The Korean grant will be used for the construction of the one-storey seafood processing plant measuring more than 1,700 square meters.

Included in the package is the provision of seafood processing equipment and materials, and training of Filipino officials and staff who will operate the project in Korea.

Based on the ROD, the implementing agencies of the project are KOICA for the Korean side and DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the City Government of Dagupan for the Philippine side.

The project is envisioned to upgrade the production and trading of seafood products from Dagupan City such as bangus, peneaus vannamei (White shrimp), tilapia and catfish.

The Seafood Processing Facility is designed to meet international standards on processing various aquatic species. Its users would be small or backyard fish processors so that they can export their products.