THE Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P920-million cold-storage and blast-freezing facility of One Stop Warehousing Solutions Inc. (OWSI), a subsidiary of Magsaysay Shipping and Logistics.
In a statement on Monday, the investment-promotion agency announced the approval of the project, which qualified under the Agribusiness and Fishery category of the current Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).
In the 2014-2016 IPP, under the category, the project is deemed an agriculture-support infrastructure, among which are included facilities for drying, cold-chain storage, blast freezing, bulk handling and storage.
Among the strategic actions outlined by the government in growing the agribusiness industry is to address supply-chain gaps and other coordination issues.
Investment in a cold storage and other postharvest facilities can help meet the challenges of the growing demand of agricultural products. Hog and poultry raisers, local farmers, cooperatives, buyers, exporters and importers of fruits and vegetables within the area can utilize the facilities to support the growth of their businesses.
One Stop Warehousing Solutions facility is slated to be fully operational by August 2017 with 47 personnel. It is expected to provide cold storage for up to 3.8 million pallets annually, with blast freezing for 4,380 pallets yearly.
The cold-storage warehouse will have a total area of 13,333 square meters and 9,300 sq m solely for cold storage. The facility will have 11 forty-foot container bays and 12 small-truck bays to maximize load and unload cargo efficiency.
“The project is expected to address the needs of the growing food-processing industry in the country. With the government’s renewed focus on agriculture to boost food security, the demand for such facilities will continue to grow,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said.
This project is the first cold-storage and blast-freezing facility of OWSI that is under the Magsaysay Group’s transport, warehouse and logistics-business arm.
The firm has been a provider of warehouse management by prominent food and beverage firms for the past five years. It currently operates 13 warehouses providing logistics warehousing and inventory management.
Aside from warehousing, OWSI also operates three container yards around the country, providing storage, stripping and stuffing, cargo-staging area and other related container-yard services.