By Reynaldo E. Andres
Contributor
BATAC CITY—A Science and Technology (S&T) Park will soon rise inside the campus of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City to cater to the growing demand for MMSU technologies to be commercialized.
Some of these technologies are in line with agricultural commodities and food products.
According to Prof. Samuel Franco, the S&T Park will house, among other things, the highly-industrialized equipment for food processing and is mandated to serve a venue to transfer basic and applied technologies developed by the university to those who may want to engage in food processing as a business venture.
It will also be a venue to teach the prospective entrepreneurs the skills in producing community-based products and the production of high value meat products to the countryside for rural empowerment and to spur socio-economic development, and to showcase the technologies being developed by the university and those of private entrepreneurs who are beneficiaries of these technologies.
It is recalled that the Department of Science and Technology in Region 1 (DOST-1) has donated some of these highly-industrialized equipment for the operation of the Food Innovation Center (FIC) at the former Agricultural Engineering Building of the MMSU College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development CAFSD).
Architect Bienvenido B. Magno, consultant of the university’s Physical Plant and General Services Division (PPGSD) said that the building is a one-storey faƧade with standard-sized cubicles for commercial purposes.
Surrounding the building will be a beautiful landscape and nice parking spaces for visitors who may want to hold gatherings and picnics.
The building will be situated at the corner of Bacucang and Paoay roads just in front of the Villa Floago Building. It will occupy some 2,000 square meters land area, which is part of the more than one-hectare sprawling rice seed production farm of the university.
Magno said that P17 million has been released from the DOST and CHED budget for the first phase construction of the building which will start next month by the Efren Remigio Construction Corporation in Laoag City.
“As soon as the construction of the first phase starts, the university will again request for the release of another P17 million for the second phase,” Arch. Magno said, adding that this is necessary so that as soon as the first phase shall be completed, there would be no work letup until the second phase is complete.
“Our target date for the start of the second phase will be June next year,” he assured.
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