A proposal to build a P920-million cold storage and blast-freezing facility in Taguig City has received the nod of the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), the warehouse expected to start operating later this year.
The project, proposed by One Stop Warehousing Solutions Inc. (OWSI), a subsidiary of Magsaysay Shipping and Logistics, qualifies as one of the preferred activities under the agribusiness and fishery category of the latest Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).
The facility is slated to be fully operational by August 2017 with 47 employees. 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, of which 9,300 square meters is solely for cold storage. In addition, 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 in a statement.
Prospective clients are trading companies and suppliers of products for hotels, meat traders and processors, distributors of local marine products as well as multinational food and beverage firms. Cold storage facilities are considered essential for storing and preserving perishable products such as fish, meat, vaccines, cakes, fruits, and vegetables.
This is the first cold storage and blast freezing facility owned by OWSI, which for the past five years has provided warehouse management for prominent food and beverage firms. OWSI currently operates 13 warehouses providing logistics warehousing and inventory management. It also runs three container yards around the country, providing storage, stripping and stuffing, cargo staging area and other related container yard services.
BOI said OWSI will employ global standards for its operations, and install a modern warehouse management system to keep track of inventory, ensure complete accuracy, and promote operational efficiency and real-time access to integrated and relevant information.
The system will also enable first-expiry, first-out handling to ensure food safety and freshness of food sent out of the firm’s storage facility. Plastic pallets will be used in compliance with the National Meat Inspection Service regulation.
