The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the anticipated completion of the Lagonglong Port in Misamis Oriental by March next year should help boost trade activities in Mindanao, enhance its logistical capability and create new jobs.
The DA said the project is a private commercial port endeavor of Amadi MGT Terminals Inc. that will cost P4 billion to complete.
The agency said Amadi will spend P1.4 billion in the initial phase of development, making possible a throughput capacity of 3.3 million metric tons of bulk cargo each year.
The DA said the port will also have storage facilities and modern equipment to handle international and domestic cargo, including perishable goods.
“The Lagonglong Port dovetails with the DA’s push to boost agricultural production, ensure accessibility to affordable food, and achieve food security for our countrymen,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in a statement.
“We should build more ports like this. This is critical to the modernization of our country. This port, once finished, will reduce feed costs by at least 2.5 percent or as much as 5 percent. It will reduce the cost of fertilizer also by 5 percent, or as much as 10 percent, depending on the price,” Laurel added.
He said the port project will increase the efficiency of transporting vital goods and provide storage facilities that will help maintain the quality of agricultural products and raw materials once finished.
Laurel said the facility will also spur the development of factories, processing plants and other value-adding facilities in the area.
Laurel said he also requested its developers to provide the DA with space at the port where state-owned cold storage, ice stands and silos for other agricultural products can be put up.
