Rs. 980 m to develop Eastern fishing industry

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

The fishing industry in the Eastern Province will be developed with an investment of Rs. 980 million. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera said, after the Eastern Province was liberated by the Army its resources are now available. Under the proposed development project Trincomalee, Ampara and Batticaloa will be targeted for improvement. The project will be completed within six months. The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,Asian Development Bank, International Agriculture Development Organisations and Iceland Development Bank will fund this project.

The Minister said the programme 'Thotupola Aruna' will also be implemented. Under this programme Muttur, Pottuvil, Manmune, Vakarai and Kucharweli will be provided with harbours.

It costs Rs. 7.8 million to build one harbour. Under this programme the Valachchen harbour will cost 2.1 dollar million and the Puduwakattu harbours 2.8 dollar million, these funds have been already allocated.

Under the same project to supply ice for fish packing, a refrigerator system will also be installed in Kodabe, Batticaloa, Vakarai, Kalmunai, Savintha-marutha and Trincomalee. The Minister said, funds have been allocated for the coastal conservation from Trincomalee to Muttur.