Work to start on industrial park

 THE Morobe government has indicated that work on a K233 million industrial park in Lae, Morobe, will begin this year.

With an investment of K25 million from the National Fisheries Authority (NFA), the PNG Marine Industrial Park will be constructed at Wagang in the Ahi council.

The project is among several investments by the provincial government in collaboration with the local fisheries authority.

The park will be constructed at the swamp between Wagang village and Bumbu settlement to cater for nine fishing vessels at a time, including berthing area for small fishing crafts. 

The project is aimed to develop a separate fishing port in Lae to cater for the increasing need of fishing industries.

Morobe fisheries management authority advisor Weti Zozingao said that Lae, being the host to five major fishing canneries and four in the pipeline, would become very demanding for berthing and offloading.

“It was appropriate to build separate fishing vessels berthing wharf to cater for the demand because fishing vessels never operate alongside merchant vessels based on fishing activities, its turn-outs in off-loading about 500-600 tonnes for processing,” Zozingao said.

Speaking at a consultative meeting for provincial government entities recently, he said the NFA would assist in the construction of the industrial park then transfer to the provincial government.

China Harbour Engineering Company has been engaged to dredge the swamp and construct the facilities.