The
ministerial committee on the stimulation and engagement of the private
sector in the country’s economic development projects, which is chaired
by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin
Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, announced the launch of the first private
sector fish farming project with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year.
The
project is the first of a series of similar projects in different
sectors that the country is planning to launch in implementation of the
directives of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and
in accordance with the recommendations of the technical committee of the
ministerial group. The project also is part of the government’s efforts
to reach self-sufficiency in food and agricultural, livestock and
industrial products.
HE Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani,
assistant undersecretary for agriculture and fisheries affairs at the
Ministry of Municipality and Environment, said that a national company
was selected to manage the fish farming project after winning a tender
that a group of investors applied for. The company was also granted
land to serve the logistics associated with the project. The company
will produce 2,000 tonnes of local fish annually.
“The
self-sufficiency rate in fish is planned to increase after the
completion of the three fish farming projects, which will produce 6,000
tonnes entirely for the local market,” said Sheikh Dr Faleh.
He added
that the fish farming projects are set to include a separate project
for shrimp production, the first of its kind in Qatar, noting that the
technical committee of the ministerial group is about to make these
projects available for the private sector in the near future. QNA