Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructure on Saturday hailed the progress made so far in construction of landing sites and fish processing facilities which are expected to add value to the fisheries sector.
Speaking during an inspection tour to Chikombe and Chilambula landing sites in Salima district, Chairperson for the committee who is also member of parliament for Salima north Enock Phale said the facilities once finished will improve hygiene and standards of fish produced in the country.
Phale said the progress of the construction has been a bit derailed by heavy rains which has been experienced in most parts of the country but besides that the pace that the construction work is taking seems promising.
“These structures being constructed here will add value to the fish being caught in our lakes therefore we are optimistic that once finished the quality of fish will be up to a standard that can even be exported outside the country,” he said.
The Fisheries Department is providing the facilities through Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management (SFAD-WM) project with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Phale however asked for a consideration of better roads leading to the landing sites to ease transportation challenges of fish processed from the facilities.
According to SFAD-WM project coordinator in the Department of Fisheries Dr. Robert Kafakoma, 15 fish landing facilities are being constructed in five lakeshore districts of Mangochi, Salima, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay and Karonga.
He said in all the 15 sites there is good progress, he noted that only in two districts of Nkhotakota and Nkhata bay the progress is a bit slow and they have engaged the constructors to improve on their pace so that they should catch up with other districts.
“We need the constructors to deliver quality infrastructures that will stand the test of time at the same time we want the facilities to be finalized on time and handed over to the communities,” he said.
He said the facilities will include provision of sanitary facilities, solar power pumps, cold rooms, shelters and store rooms.
The construction of the landing sites will cost over K2.9 billion and if all the construction works proceed as planned, people will start accessing the facilities by June this year.
The SFAD-WM is a five-year project to improve the resilience of the fishing and fish farming communities, taking into account the prevalent climate variability as well as the risks associated with climate change.