KARACHI, Sept 9: The Korangi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) has waived harbour charges for boats.

This incentive for boat owners has been announced by the KFHA managing director which would help reactivate the fish harbour built in the 1980s.

The Minister for Fisheries, Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, has given one month time to the authority to make the harbour operative so that export of seafood products could be started from a second harbour after the Karachi Fish Harbour.

The minister on Tuesday visited the harbour, with fisheries secretary Shoaib Siddiqui, and held a meeting with boat owners and fishermen to their discuss problems.

The minister directed cancellation of allotment of three plots for fish processing factories as the owners failed to build factories. It was decided that these plots would be allotted to exporters. Two processing factories are already in the process.The authority constituted a core group of seven boat owners, who would initiate landing of fish and prawns in the harbour for export process.

The federal government recently decided to reactivate the Korangi Fish Harbour which has all modern facilities required by the EU for fish export to Europe after a ban was imposed on fish export from the Karachi Fish Harbour due to unhygienic fish landing and processing conditions.

The federal ministry of food requested the Sindh government to reactivate the Korangi fish harbour on its behalf and the task was given to the Sindh minister for fisheries who made several visits to the harbour and held a series of meetings with boats owners and fishermen and the fish harbour authority.

The fish harbour is likely to become operative next month to start normal fish landing activities, including auction hall operations.

The fish would be sent to modern factories now under construction for processing in accordance with EU standards.

Earlier, in a meeting held under the chairmanship of fisheries minister, it was decided that the managing director Morongo Fish Harbour Authority would submit proposals for disposal of open area of 80,000 square metres for processing plants through auction for getting approval form the federal government.

It was also decided that the DCO Karachi would be requested for completion of road work leading to the fish harbour on priority basis and for taking measures for removal of encroachments near the fish harbour.