Phase one of the Liwatoni Fish Processing Plant is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Speaking while inspecting the ongoing construction of the plant, Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said he had given the construction team a deadline of the end of December this year to complete the first phase of the project.
“I have come here to assess the progress and I will continue to follow up so that by December we will have phase one of Liwatoni fully completed,” said CS Mvurya.
Second Phase
CS Mvurya said phase one of the Liwatoni Fisheries project will cost sh.1.49 billion and phase two will be done through a private sector arrangement.
“We have engaged quite a number of private-sector players and they are ready to work with us; they are ready to go deep sea and to use this particular facility which in our estimation will immediately create 3,000 jobs for Kenyans who will be working here,” said the CS.
The CS urged the contractor and technical to employ sufficient workmanship to ensure they meet the deadline.
“This is a very important project in the blue economy sector because right now most of the fishermen fishing in the Indian Ocean are artisanal fishermen, however, for us to benefit from the Exclusive Economic Zone we need industrial fishing and we will need a facility that is going to handle fish landing and fish processing,” said Mvurya.
“This facility here in Liwatoni provides an entire ecosystem where you have cold storage, processing, packaging, and everything. So that after all the processes are done, we can have a product that is properly canned, packed, and ready for the market,” he added.
The fish waste from the plant will be used as fish food and also as manure.
“In the blue economy, we use everything, so for the fish waste that will come from here, we can use use them in the aquaculture,” explained Mvurya.
