Trade and Industry Updates: Bohol

Consultants for the proposed common packaging facility project will visit the province soon for the technical meeting and onsite assessment of the project site.

The common packaging facility project will build a food safety and packaging center at the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Compound in Dao District, Tagbilaran City.

The Provincial Government will implement the project through the Bohol Poverty Reduction and Management Office and Bohol Investment Promotion Center, with the active "legworking" of the Department of Trade and Industry-Bohol Provincial Office.

The project costs Fifteen Million One Hundred Sixty-Six Thousand Pesos in the three-year period.

For this, the Provincial Government will chip in 33 percent equivalent to Four Million Nine Hundred Forty-One Pesos as counterpart while the Philippine Australian Community Assistance Program or PACAP approved Five Million Pesos for the project for the 33 percent. The City Government will give 1.5 million pesos or ten percent of the cost and CIDA, Two Million pesos or 13 percent of the project cost.

The Bohol Chamber of Commerce, Inc. , which is the project proponant, will give the 11 percent equity equivalent to one million seven hundred twenty-five pesos.

The food safety and packaging center will cater to local companies in an effort to come up with better packaging and better processing of lcoal food products to compete in global market.

One Million pesos of the project budget will be allocated for capability building whierein one thousand local food handlers in the province will be trained on food hygiene and food manudacturing practices.

Meanwhile, 2.5 million pesos will be for the working capital to purchase packaging materials. 5.1 million pesos will be set aside for the purchase of machinery and equipment and 1.1 million pesos for the commissary equipment. The rest of the budget will be for the operating expenses.