ANGOLA – In the city of Port Amboim, the Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM) has financed the construction of a new fresh fish market worth 213 million kwanzas (US$422,795).

The fish market’s construction began at the beginning of the new year and is being built on a 1,700 square meters piece of land. It will comprise 9 cold rooms which will have the capacity to hold 50 tonnes of fish, 60 benches and administrative and service areas.

This project is the work of the Municipal Administration of Porto Amboin which footed the initial KZ30 million (US$59,548) of the payment.

The construction company responsible for the project, Resolveng Civil Construction is expected to deliver KZ200 million (US$ 396,991) worth of work. The remaining KZ13 million (US$25,804) will be undertaken by Encigespro Engenharia Civil.

When the project is complete, 77 direct jobs and 60 indirect jobs will be created for the residents of Porto Amboin which is in the province of Cuanza Sul.

In the last two years, the municipality of Porto Amboim recorded more than 10 thousand tonnes of fish captured by the use of artisanal and semi-industrial fishing procedures.

In the recent week, the project was awarded a contract with the signatories being the municipal administrator of Porto Ambiom, Maria Sumano and the contractor Eduardo Lopes Carneiro.

Maria Sumano said that the project is part of other PIIM projects and as the district of Porto Amboim has great potential in the fishing sector, it is in an effort in improving the sector and thus the livelihoods of the fresh fish sellers in the district.

“We request the good offices of the company to comply with the contractual clauses, to see a market worthy of a favourable and organized business environment for its inhabitants,” she said

She urged that the project be executed with rigour, speed and goodwill so that the end result would be of the desired quality.

This new fresh fish market project is among a 2022 portfolio of seven PIIM projects that have currently attained a physical and financial execution of 82% and 83% respectively.

Another one of the projects was a dried fish market whose budget is KZ 40,583,400 (US$ 80,556) with a financial execution of 70%.

“In the same vein, we have a market for the sale of dried fish in progress, which had a financial rebalancing of around 25 per cent. Both markets will ensure the convenience of sellers as well as the quality of the fish,” said Maria Sumano.

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