The government will begin construction in January on a bigeye tuna processing and packaging facility, following the completion of regulatory approvals, according to Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam. He said the project is expected to be finished within six months, a timeline intended to ease logistical bottlenecks that have long constrained the nation’s fishing industry.
In an interview broadcast on PSM News, Minister Shiyam described the initiative as the fulfilment of a presidential pledge to strengthen the sector. He noted that the administration has allocated a 25,000‑square‑foot parcel of land in Hulhumalé for the site, situating the development within wider government measures to reduce operational costs. Among those measures is the provision of subsidised fuel for fishermen operating in the capital region.
The project is being undertaken under the management of the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank, which has secured loan financing for the construction. Once operational, the facility is expected to expand local industrial capacity significantly, introducing a daily packaging capability of 35 tonnes.