Rehab of cold storage plant to cost P720M

REPORT FROM BUSINESSWORLD GLACIER Refrigeration Services, Inc. will spend P720 million to rehabilitate the mothballed Central Refrigeration Warehouse at Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI) in Taguig, company Chief Executive Arturo C. Yan said. In an interview, Mr. Yan told BusinessWorld Glacier seeks to respond to the demand for cold storage facilities of food manufacturers, fastfood companies, food processors, distributors and traders of poultry, meat, dairy, fruit and other marine products located in the Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) areas. "The existing mothballed Central Refrigeration Warehouse will be the candidate for expansion works in order to minimize transport, handling, storage and distribution costs and significant waste and spoilage of perishable items coming from the northern and southern regions," he said. This follows its P154-million 9,870-cubic-meter cold storage facility project at FTI last July 2005. FTI, a 120-hectare agro-industrial commercial complex in Taguig City, has storage facilities including the Central Refrigeration Warehouse that has chilling rooms, freezer storage, ice plant, blast freezers and refrigerated processing rooms. It has a slaughterhouse, chicken dressing plant and a multipurpose warehouse for dry storage, food-processing facilities for grading, handling and packaging for foreign market, the FTI Web site read. In the 80s, it was actively involved in retailing basic commodities at government subsidized prices but the operation was suspended in 1989 because of conflict with free trade market forces. After operating for 30 years, its cold storage was also shut down in 2004 due to technical problems and viability concerns. Now, FTI operates as provider of prime industrial and commercial lots for medium-to-long term leases, industrial buildings with standard-sized stalls ideal for office, warehouse or small-scale processing operations. Mr. Yan said Glacier would spend P120 million for the first phase of expansion set on the second quarter. The first phase would allow Glacier to run at a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters. The rehabilitation of the Central Refrigeration Warehouse — which has a capacity of 90,000 cubic meters — will be completed in 2010. "Our plan is to expand in portions. Upon demand of the market, we will continuously rehabilitate the whole Central Refrigeration Warehouse," Mr. Yan said. "It is a nonperforming asset. Most of the equipment has been disposed. For us to save on capital expense, we will make use of the civil works," he added. Glacier is a spin-off company of the Phil-Nippon Group of Companies, which is involved in the cold chain industry. It aims to provide quality and competitive cold storage, logistics and processing services to boost agricultural, food manufacturing, retail and distribution business operations in the strategic areas within the country. Phil-Nippon is a holding company of strategic business unit engaged in power, shipping, food manufacturing, logistics, and industrial supply. Japan-based Technomarine Co., Ltd., owns 40% of the total equity. — RAMR/BUSINESSWORLD