|
|
|
| Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Tsunami hit fishermen to get 200 multiday boats by Elmo Leonard Two hundred fishermen who lost their multiday boats and another 400 who lost their day-boats to the tsunami of December will receive grants and easy payment facilities so that they could get back to work. These boats will be engaged beyond the island's coastal waters where fisheries resources are abundant and with it, the present catch could be increased by 25 percent, according to the Fisheries Ministry. These fishing craft will be built in the island's six large boatyards. The 200 multiday fishing craft will be of the 34 to 45 foot types. The average cost of a boat to be replaced would be Rs. 6.6 million and government will give a grant of Rs. 2.5 million to each recipient. The balance could be obtained from any commercial bank covering this scheme, where the interest rate would be around 6 per cent, Director General of the Department of Fisheries, G. Piyasena said. Sri Lanka's multiday fishing fleet numbered 1,600 before the tsunami. Two-hundred-and-fifty multiday craft were destroyed and of the 400 damaged, most have been repaired, Piyasena said. The 400 day-boats would be of the 3.5 tonne type and cost an average Rs. 1.7 million. The government grant would be Rs. 1 million and the balance could likewise be obtained from a commercial bank covering the 6 percent interest. The tsunami destroyed 400 day-boats and most of the 650 damaged could be repaired, Piyasena said. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
