A PRIVATE firm is set to build a Mangrove Propagation and Information Center in Barangay Day-as in the town of Cordova, a facility that will help the local government protect its mangroves.
Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), will build the center in the middle of a 500-square-meter mangrove plantation in Barangay Day-as.
Cordova has at least two hectares of mangroves that surround several of its barangays.
MPIF President Melody del Rosario said that the foundation chose Cordova because the Cebu Cordova Expressway (CCLEX) will be built there. It’s the 10th year of MPIC’s environmental awareness initiative called Shore it Up!
“We want to propagate the mangroves here as part of our CSR,” del Rosario said.
The project is supposed to make sure that the environmental sustainability of the CCLEX project will not be compromised.
Officials of MPIC, MPIF, Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp. (CCLEC) and municipal officials of Cordova led by Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho broke ground for the center yesterday.
CCLEC is a subsidiary company of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.
For her part, Cho said the center will be an added attraction in the area, where their eco-tourism center is also located. The facility is also expected to generate jobs for locals.
“This project is good for field trips, for educational purposes because it’s about the environment. We are very thankful to the proponent for this project,” she said. Cho said some of their fisherfolk will be trained as tour guides for visitors to the mangrove plantation.
Construction of the center is expected to be finished in three months. (RVC)