The former stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will be converted into a banana plantation, Agriculture Sec. Emmanuel Piñol said Thursday after signing a deal with foreign investors.
Russian and Swiss companies will spend about P8 billion (€134 mln) to develop 7,000-hectares of land in and around Camp Abubakar to grow midland and highland bananas, Piñol said in a statement. The projected is expected to be the "first and biggest investment" in the Bangsamoro after the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Irrigation mapping and assessment of the quality of the soil in the area will begin next week, Piñol said. The 32,000-hectare Camp Abubakar, spanning Maguindanao towns of Barira, Buldon, Matanog and Parang, was known to be the seat of power of the MILF in the late 1990s before former President Estrada declared an all-out war against the rebels.
According to news.abs-cbn.com, the stronghold was raided by the military and fell into the control of government in July 2000, after a two-month offensive.
