Awang Tengah ( 3rd left) interacting with the participating teams
LIMBANG: Limbang and Lawas has all the ingredients to realise their potential to become the aquaculture hub of Sarawak.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali said that both these districts were identified to have strong development potential in the aquaculture industry as they shared similar aspects to successful areas in China that are focused on caged culture farming of fish and shellfish.
“Lawas and Limbang are the most suitable for caged culture as their similarities with thriving aquaculture hubs in China is there. The bay of Brunei, river mouth of Awat Awat, Punang, Kuala Lawas and Limbang all have excellent quality water and mangrove ecosystem, “ he said during his speech at Limbang Maksak Futsal competition today.
Fresh from a five-day delegation visit from China, Awang Tengah detailed that the two district’s strategic locations also made them an ideal aquaculture hub as they had strong access to airport and port facilities in both nearby Brunei and Labuan.
“The conditions are ideal for collaboration with Brunei and Sabah in developing this industry, so we should be taking a leaf from the book of China’s thriving industry,” said Awang Tengah.
The DCM who is also the Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development and Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, shared with the public that his recent delegation visit to China saw two local companies signing agreements that would help develop the aquaculture industry within the state.
Pusaka Capital Sdn Bhd and TM Agro Holdings Sdn Bhd entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Sun Valley Holdings Sdn Bhd at Crown Plaza Fuzhou Riverside in China to invest RM809 million in an aquaculture project at Tanjung Manis.
The delegation also visited the Hainan Chenhai Aquatic Co and Hainan Dingda Aquaculture Co. Ltd.in Wenchang on Sept 27 to get a better insight on the operation of cage culture farming.
Meanwhile, Awang Tengah also guided that he would be bringing up the need for upgrades of CIQ facilities in Miri, Limbang and Lawas with the chief minister.
He pointed that due to the heavy flow of visitors at these check points, upgrades to facilities and services should be imperative.
“The request for upgrading of the Immigration checkpoints in Limbang and Lawas has been made to the federal government but there has been no response yet, “ he said.
He added that the issue of seamless travel between Brunei and Sarawak was also brought up in the recent bilateral meeting in Brunei earlier this month.
On the Maksak futsal competition, Awang Tengah commended the event and said it would promote good physical and mental health among civil servants which are needed to run a good delivery system.
29 teams, including seven female teams participated in the competition in Limbang Indoor Stadium this year and was aimed as a social exercise to foster closer rapport among government departments, agencies and the private sector.
Also present were Lawas District Officer Ladin Atok, Limbang Division Immigration chief Khalthom Ahmad, and heads of government departments and agencies.
Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/09/29/limbang-and-lawas-sarawaks-aquaculture-hub/