A huge proposed fishing project in Nigeria is seeking to tap investment and demand from China.
The Andoni Fishing Port and Processing Zone proposed for construction in Andoni, a coastal region of Rivers State of Nigeria, is being billed as the first of its kind to be built in the Gulf of Guinea.
The project will have the status of a special economic zone (EPZ), Emeka Chukwu, director of the proposed project, told SeafoodSource. The 2,500-hectare site, incorporating a fishing port and processing as well as warehousing zones and ship maintenance yards, will cost between USD 1.5 billion and USD 2.5 billion (EUR 1.3 billion and EUR 2.2 billion), depending on design specifications still to be decided.
But the investment will be recouped within four years, Chukwu said.
“We feel it is unique and one-of-a kind project and [investors] will gladly buy into it this time, because it will offer them a single platform in dealing with the other countries in the West and Central Africa Gulf of Guinea, leveraging on Nigeria's influence in the whole region,” he said.
The Andoni Fishing Port and Processing Zone promoters are also promising the project will improve regional seafood sustainability and create employment. The Gulf of Guinea is “one of the richest fishing grounds in the world” and home to 1,000 species, Chukwu said. He cited a report suggesting that 360,000 jobs could be created in Africa through the tackling of illegal fishing.
Chukwu dismissed concerns about the impact of overfishing, a problem created by similar African fishing bases and zones built by foreign investors in return for fishing rights.
“That will be taken care of by the policy on overfishing and the WTO subsidies negotiations that will ultimately change the situation, coupled with regional effort to be pushed by Nigeria to ensure sustainable fishing practices,” Chukwu said.
