BY SAMIE WAIKORI

The Special Economic Zone act 2024, recently passed in parliament will boost the development of the fisheries sector in the country.

Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bradley Smoky Tovosia highlighted this when spoke in parliament when the bill was in the stage of the Committee of the Whole House.

Tovosia said the act introduces mechanisms such as development zones, licences to build necessary infrastructure, operational licences for managing zones and basic parameters that allow processing and support services to function efficiently.

He expressed that the act has an ability to develop fully integrated fisheries SEZ with tuna processing, cool storage, export logistics and auxiliary services like boat repair and ice production – all under one economic ecosystem.

Tovosia added that the SEZ act offers solid foundation and wants it to fully support fisheries based economic zones like Noro and Bina.

“I look forward to seeing these schedules – one that is carefully assigned to fisheries to guide SEZ development around marine infrastructure and industry,” he said.

Tovusia emphasized that while the act provides an investment threshold of SBD $5 million for foreign investment incentives, it should be lower to local investors so that locally own enterprise prices can flourish.

In the meantime, the Minister also requested if fisheries can be formally represented in the SEZ Authority Board for Zone Designated Fisheries.

“This will ensure proper governance, compliance and sector alignment, which will help safeguard our access to prime markets for processed products, particularly the European market. This will bolster investment in fisheries.

“Also, the SEZ fund should prioritise investment in the management systems necessary for fish processing. The operation of SEZ in Noro and Bina will ensure better life for people,” he said.

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