Bahrain, AMA groups pursue $300-million agricultural project

MANILA, Philippines - The $300-million joint venture project of Bahrain-based Nader &Ebrahim S/O Hassan (NEH) and the AMA Group of Companies is pushing through after the identification of some 10,000 hectares of available land in Davao del Norte.

This was revealed yesterday by Marriz Agbon, president of the Philippine Agricultureal Development and Commercial Corp. (PADCC), an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture.

According to Agbon, the joint venture firm RP Harvest, Inc. has consolidated an initial 2,000 hectares for the Cavendish banana plantation project that is expected to start within the year.

The project is expected to create up to 20,000 additional jobs in Mindanao based on the need for 2,000 workers per hectare.

Ebrahim Hassan Mubarak Al Ameer of NEH and Ambassador Amable Aguiluz V, chairman emeritus of the AMA Group Holdings Corp. (partner of NEH), presented the details of the project to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo more than a year ago.

Agbon said RP Harvest also plans to go into the production of rice, corn, pineapple, coffee and sugar in commercial quantities, all for export to the Middle East, Agbon.