DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first-ever fishing harbor in the East African nation.
The construction of the fishing harbor in Kilwa Masoko, along the Indian Ocean coast in the Lindi region in southern Tanzania, is being undertaken by the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd.
Hassan also commissioned 160 modern fishing boats to be used by artisanal fishermen in deep seas. The boats will be lent to the fishermen without interest.
Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Abdallah Ulega said that the fishing harbor, with a cost of 266 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 106 million U.S. dollars), will have the capacity to store 90 tonnes of frozen fish per day.
Ulega added that the fishing harbor, to be managed by the Tanzania Ports Authority, will also house fish processing plants and a workshop for repairing fishing ships and boats, as well as making fishnets. He mentioned that the harbor will provide employment for more than 30,000 youth.
Regarding the 160 fishing boats, Ulega said that providing these boats to artisanal fishermen aims to boost the fisheries' contribution to the country's economic growth, targeting an increase from 1.8 percent to 10 percent by 2036. The fishing boats will be loaned to artisanal fishermen operating in fishing cooperatives in the Indian Ocean and Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. ■
