Photo Credit: Islands Business
Madang Province's Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone will be redeveloped to become a regional fish processing centre.
The National Fisheries Authority and the Treasury Department are collaborating on the project's development and financing plan.
Ango Wangatau, head of the National Fisheries Authority, said the regional processing hub will bring together other Pacific Island governments to achieve a critical mass of tuna processing and export from the Pacific.
PNG will inevitably emerge as the leading country as the hosting hub.
According to him, the sector expects to gain more than 30,000 new jobs as a result of the PMIZ's launch, with income-producing over K3 to K4 billion.
“Maximising export earnings is contingent on increasing value-adding production and the PMIZ redevelopment is the platform to achieve it.
“The NFA Board is confident that this investment will lift PNGs value-adding capacity to another level in the commercialisation agenda.”
The National Fisheries Board, according to Wangatau, is dedicated to participating in these changes and is convinced that the plan's road map will enable the fisheries sector to contribute to the objective of "Taking Back PNG and Leaving No Child Behind."
He stated that he has been in discussions with super funds about partnering with NFA to invest in infrastructure and allowing private sector participation, which would help the industry to develop additional facilities and achieve the anticipated outcomes.
Reference: Yafoi, Melisha. Post-Courier (27 August 2021). “Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone In Madang Back On The Table”.
