The Philippines is to see the first Seafood Processing Facility in Dagupan City following a $2.2 million grant from the Korean government.

The move follows 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.

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

The Korean grant will be used to build a single-storey seafood processing plant measuring more than 1,700 square metres.

The package includes seafood processing equipment and materials and training Filipino officials and staff, who will operate the project in Korea.

The implementing agencies for the project are KOICA for the Korean and DA-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the City Government of Dagupan for the Philippines.

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