A fishing centre recently constructed in the municipality of Nzeto, Angola and financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), has reportedly exported 48 tonnes of fish to the democratic republic of Congo (DRC).
The centre has areas for landing, cleaning, processing and packing of fish under appropriate hygienic conditions, with a capacity of over 50 processors, an ice factory, two medium size refrigerators and a boat repair shop.
The Angolan AfDB representative, Pietro Toigo, visited the fishing centre and announced that the centre’s results were positive as the successful exportation to neighbouring countries plays a role in diversifying the country’s economy and helps create competitiveness.
Pietro Toigo explained that the centre will have a part in propelling and adding value to the nation’s fishing sector seeing as it has so far helped improve the productive capacities of the fishermen in the municipality of Nzeto.
He said, “We really enjoyed visiting the enterprise. Clearly, from what we saw, it is a very important fishing centre, for its contribution to industrialization adds value to the local fisheries sector, as it is improving processing conditions and production capacity of the fishermen.”
The president of the Fishermen’s Association of Nzeto, Simão Ambrósio, on the other hand, called for the improvement of infrastructure at the fishing centre, such as the construction of a pier bridge to further improve its fishing operations.
He insisted that the municipality has the potential to contribute more to the country’s fishing industry.
In response, the municipal administrator of Nzeto, Augusto Tiago, assured stakeholders that the improvement of fishing infrastructure in the region is a solution the government will implement soon. He also said that he recognises that fishing plays a crucial role in Nzeto’s local economy.
“There are very advanced contacts with the bodies that oversee fisheries in the country and we are guaranteed that, sooner or later, we will be able to have the pier.
As for the centre itself, it is a great asset, since fishing is the engine of the economy here in Nzeto. So, any device that comes to help this sector will always be well received,” said Mr Tiago.
