City eyes to acquire storage facility

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Davao on Monday said the City Government of Davao is planning to acquire a cold storage facility that can store huge volumes of fruits and vegetables.

DTI-Davao City Field Office head Teolulo Pasawa said the cold storage can benefit farmers preserve fruits and vegetables for a longer duration while looking for buyers who purchase their stocks. The plan, he said, is still subject for feasibility study next year.

Pasawa said the huge storage facility can help farmers sell products at good prices that are favorable to both consumers and sellers without any inhibitions that their goods may rot if left unsold in the market.

"Farmers will no longer fear that they may be forced to sell products at prices unfavorable to them," Pasawa said in the vernacular.

Although the City Government will have to first conduct a feasibility study on how huge will this facility be and how many tons of fruits and vegetables it can accommodate, Pasawa said adding that the set-up of this storage is like that of five-hectare Food Terminal in Manila.

He also said this project may come after the passage of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Ordinance at the City Council. He said budget for the facility is not a problem since there's the project fund facility which can be utilized.

Pasawa also defended the PPP Ordinance amid opposition from progressive groups by saying that the ordinance is just misconceived by many people.

He added it does not follow that when a firm is managed by a private sector, cost of goods and services will go uncontrollable to consumers.

"There are a lot of misconceptions. Our mindset is a private sector is always profit-oriented. On the other hand, when it’s the public government, it's always service-oriented regardless if it’s breakeven," he said.

Pasawa said the city needs more infrastructure projects that cannot be materialized due to lack of funds from the government that only the private sector is the only one capable to provide.

Private sectors are looking for projects, an investment where to pour in their idle funds and that PPP ordinance is about tapping those idle funds for the development of the city, according to Pasawa.

Development is fast and more efficient when projects are handled by private sectors, Pasawa explained.

"There's some truth that when projects are operated in a business-like manner, they become more efficient," he said.

The passage of the ordinance at the City Council will expedite the development with a shorter processing time on new projects and more efficient services, according to Pasawa.