GRANT. San Jose de Buenavista Mayor Elmer Untaran (5th from left) receives the certificate for funding eligibility for the feeder port improvement during the launching of the World Bank and the Department of Agriculture (WB-DA) funded Philippine Rural Development Project in Quezon City on Nov. 6, 2023. Untaran said in an interview Thursday (Nov. 9, 2023) the port improvement will strengthen the trading activities in the capital town and the province as a whole. (Photo courtesy of San Jose de Buenavista local government unit)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The municipality of San Jose de Buenavista is a recipient of a PHP290-million grant from the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) for the upgrading of its feeder port.
Mayor Elmer Untaran received the certificate for funding eligibility during the launching of the World Bank-Department of Agriculture-funded PRDP in Quezon City on Monday.
“The funding will be used to extend the berthing area and construction of the pier,” Untaran said in an interview on Thursday.
The improvement of the port constructed back in 2017 will allow the berthing of commercial and roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels to strengthen trading activities in the capital town and the province as a whole.
“The port improvement is necessary because only the small fishing boats could currently dock,” he said.
The improvement project will extend the existing 164-meter berthing area of the port to 444 meters for commercial and Ro-Ro vessels to dock.
Once completed, the local government intends to identify a portion of the port area for fishing boats to dock and not anywhere in the shorelines to generate income.
“The port improvement will perk up our local economy since we could already transport our commodities to the nearby Cuyo, Palawan, and other parts of the country,” Untaran said.
Untaran eyes various agricultural products, including rice, vegetables and copra as among the major commodities that San Jose de Buenavista can trade with other places once the facility is operational.
The LGU expects the port improvement project to start next year. (PNA)
