CLARK FREEPORT — The Clark International Airport Corp. signed on Tuesday an agreement with the Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) to explore areas for collaboration for the 62-hectare National Food Hub at the Clark civil aviation complex.
“This is a strategic partnership with a premier agricultural state university near Clark with a specific mandate for the community and the country that will help us with the capacity building in the logistical planning for the food hub and for the entirety of Clark civil aviation complex,” CIAC President Arrey Perez said.
The Clark hub will serve as a comprehensive solution for the distribution, storage, and processing of agricultural products and will help strengthen the national government’s food security measures which is a key priority of the Marcos administration, he added.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the CIAC executive and PSAU President Anita David.
Under the MOU, both agencies will collaborate in the areas of research and development, extension and training projects, food security and sustainable farming system, human resource sharing and staff training, and capability-building activities in the building of the national food hub.
“PSAU’s role is critical in ensuring that all the elements are there to make this project successful, being a center of excellence for agro-ecological technology and the extensive knowledge and experience will help us realize our vision of a cutting-edge facility for a comprehensive range of agro-logistics services,” Perez added.
For her part, David noted the PSAU will share its academic research studies in preparing for the technical requirements in establishing the food hub.
“In these times where food security is an issue, I think our country really needs (the services of) PSAU as a manner of paying it forward and so we’ll anchor our research studies to align with the CIAC’s expected deliverables for the project’s success,” David said.
The P8.5-billion National Food Hub Project involves developing, operating, and maintaining a wholesale food hub catering to a wide region, including the Clark Freeport Zone, New Clark City, Metro Manila, North, Central, and Southern Luzon.
Perez said the food hub would replicate the state-of-the-art agro-logistics systems from advanced Asian countries, elevating food safety standards and creating better opportunities for local farmers, fisher folk and growers.
The timeline for the project includes the completion of the project feasibility study and pre-tender documents by January 2025, the public release of tender documents in the first quarter of next year and the anticipated signing of the project concession agreement by January 2026.
