Excerpt from rnz.co.nz
Solomon Islands and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are to work together to develop a world class tuna processing plant in Malaita Province that could create employment opportunities for more than 5,500 people.
The Bina Harbour Tuna Processing Plant will be built under a public private partnership (PPP) and is expected to generate up to $US40 million in foreign investment for the government.
Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Nestor Giro, said the project will “create employment, derive more benefit from our sovereign tuna resource, and add an important Solomon Island contribution to our economy.”
“[The government’s] vision is that Bina Harbor will grow beyond this project to become the country’s first climate resilient international shipping port,” Giro said.
The processing plant is expected to create 1,600 jobs in Malaita – mostly for women – with a further 4,000 jobs created indirectly on the back of growth in related industries.
Solomon Islands tuna accounts for around seven percent of the total Western and Central Pacific Ocean catch – more than 150,000 tonnes – with an estimated value of US$180 million.
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