USD1 Billion aqua farming project to start in Pangasinan

By Elsha Marie Arguel

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Aug. 2 (PIA) – A USD1 Billion aqua farming project will soon be established in Pangasinan after the Japanese government-owned corporation and the provincial government of Pangasinan inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday.

According to the Provincial Information Office (PIO) of Pangasinan, Yoshihisa Arai, president of Tokushima Auction Market (TAM), a Japanese government-owned corporation, and Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino III have signed the MOU virtually on July 29.

“The USD 1 Billion project, proposed as Pangasinan Fish Farming (PFF) project, aims to grow and harvest a variety of fishes in Pangasinan waters where over 1,000 local fisher folks will be trained and employed,” said PIO in a statement released on Friday.

PIO said through the project,  floating cages, office buildings, artificial intelligence center, dormitories, communication and database center, feed warehouse, fish processing plants, cold storage, solid and wastewater treatment facility, medical center and land development will be established in Pangasinan to improve the aquafarming industry and generate more job and livelihood opportunities in the province.

Likewise, Espino thanked the Tokushima Auction Market for choosing Pangasinan as one of the investment areas for their various food-production programs.

“On behalf of the Province of Pangasinan, I would like to thank all of our partners for choosing our province for this momentous endeavor,” said Espino.

Espino also expressed his full support for the development of the aquafarming industry in Pangasinan.

Under the MOU, the aquafarming industry was recognized as a socially acceptable, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable mechanism of food production in the province. (JCR/EMSA/PIA Pangasinan with reports from Pangasinan PIO)