Fish Trust gets own cold storage

The Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust (NFCPT) received a cold room facility and chill room from the Overseas Fishery Corporation of Japan (OFCF).

The facility was built at the Trust’s fish shop in Ongwediva. In a show of gratitude to the donation the Trust hosted a dinner on Wednesday this week to thank the Japan government. The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Hon Bernhard Esau officiated. Said the Minister, “this project came about through strategic engagement between my office and the OFCF in June 2014 when I requested OFCF assistance in the rehabilitation [of equipment] and technical assistance to the Trust. The response was very positive and a team of three experts were dispatched to Namibia in August 2014 to assess the situation on the ground. Thereafter we engaged in the negotiation and concluded the Project Memorandum on 09 December 2014.” Esau, said,“we are proud to have been able to facilitate an agreement such as this and are eternally grateful to the OFCF for their expertise and funds. The importance and impact can not be understated, as the ability to store more fish is an integral part to ensure its accessibility to the Northern regions, which is the most densely populated part of Namibia.” The Japanese Corporation donated N$1,405,040 inclusive of labour and materials for the construction of a cold storage and processing or chill room at the Ongwediva fish shop.
The new cold storage has the capacity to store 30 metric tons of fish and the chill room the capacity to hold 10 metric tons. The ability to test for bacteria has also been improved with special laboratory equipment.