COURTESY....
Bill Hertzig, President of Darden Aquafarm INC made a courtesy call on Chief
Minister Musa Aman.
By : REBECCA CHONG
DURING the third day of
State Assembly question and answer session, the State Assemblyman for Kunak,
Nilwan Kabang asked the Chief Minister on the progress of the proposed lobster
farming project in Pulau Timbun Mata in Kunak District, a joint undertaking
between Inno Fisheries, a subsidiary company of Yayasan Sabah, and Aquafarm Inc
from America.
According to project sources
the proposed joint venture involves an investment of RM 2 billion and is
expected to generate 20,000 jobs. In reply the Chief Minister confirmed that
the project will be carried out on a 9,300 hectare coastal area in Pulau Timbun
Mata, Semporna.
He said the State Cabinet
approved the land for the project in March 2012. He said the lobster farm would
require some 6000 hectares to accommodate the 18000 or so lobster cages plus
additional area for related onshore and offshore facilities.
To be carried out by
Integrated Lobsters Aquaculture Park (ILAP) in joint venture between Inno
Fisheries SDN BHD and Aquafarm Inc from America the project includes lobster
aquaculture for commercial production, research and development, contract
farming and training as well as mussels farming as the food source for the
lobsters.
The Chief Minister further
explained that the inclusion of contract
farming was to allow , the local fishermen as well as small and medium-sized
companies to do business with ILAP. In
this way, local aquaculture farmers and companies who join the program would
gain access to the technology and support system for lobster farming and
marketing.
Musa further disclosed that
the West Coast area is found to be the
most suitable area for the production of lobster seeds. He said an application
for funding has been submitted for consideration under National Key Economic
Areas (NKEA) for agriculture. (Insight Sabah)
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