The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) is currently working to temporarily relocate the operations of K. Kanduoiygiri Fish Village to Lh. Felivaru, following the handover of the production facility to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
Kanduoiygiri must be vacated before the 15th of this month. In response to questions sent by "Keyolha" to clarify the progress of this work, MIFCO stated that it will take a maximum of two weeks to temporarily commence the operations previously carried out in Kanduoiygiri at Felivaru, until land is secured in Hulhumale. The company expects to resume operations towards the end of this month.
"Therefore, we will start before next month, towards the end of this month," MIFCO's response read.
MIFCO stated that 90% of the relocation work has now been completed. The ongoing work involves removing the remaining production equipment from the island. Since this includes heavy-duty equipment that requires the use of landing crafts and cranes, MIFCO noted that there might be some delays.
"As the place needs to be vacated before the 15th of this month, discussions are underway with MNDF to secure a short extension," MIFCO's response added.
Since Kanduoiygiri was previously an island under the jurisdiction of the Fisheries Ministry, it was given to MNDF on the condition that land in Hulhumale would be arranged for the Ministry in exchange. The Fisheries Ministry stated that the land where the Hulhumale Fish Market is located has now been designated for this purpose, and the procedures for handing over the land are currently being completed.
The 4-hectare island of Kanduoiygiri was the main hub for MIFCO's lifestyle products. This includes ready-made or fresh, ready-to-eat products. The facility also provided services to fishermen. These services included weighing skipjack and yellowfin tuna, fish packaging, producing lifestyle products, and supplying ice to fishermen. The packaging of skipjack and yellowfin tuna loins was also carried out in Kanduoiygiri.
MIFCO stated that its highest priority right now is to establish a system in Felivaru to process lifestyle and yellowfin tuna products. Although this is a temporary solution, MIFCO stated that it will utilize its available investment opportunities to resume these services on a large scale as soon as possible on the designated land in Hulhumale.
The Cabinet decided to hand over Kanduoiygiri to MNDF on the 4th of last month.
