After more than a year of construction and 8 months of trial operation, on July 2, 2018, Everbright Fisheries, located on the Atlantic coast of Benguela Province, officially opened. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans of the Republic of Angola, Victoria de Barros Netu, and the Governor of Benguela Province, Rui Falc ã o, attended the opening ceremony and unveiled the plaque and cut the ribbon for Everbright Fisheries Company. About 200 representatives from Chinese enterprises, local officials, and guests, including Shen Chongqing and Chen Cunhui, responsible persons of Everbright Fisheries, attended the opening event.

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans of Angola, Victoria de Barros Netu, and the Governor of Benguela Province, Rui Falc ã o, arrived at Everbright Fisheries

Angola's Minister of Fisheries, Victoria de Barros Netu (right), and Governor of Benguela Province, Rui Falcon (left), jointly unveiled the opening ceremony of Everbright Fisheries

Ribbon cutting ceremony

Minister of Fisheries, Drobas, stated in his speech that the opening of Everbright Fisheries is an important moment for the development of Angola's fisheries and contributes to the modernization of Angola's fish processing industry. Modern fishing and refrigeration processing equipment provides a guarantee for the processing and production of high-quality fish products, while also bringing considerable employment opportunities to workers, including young people and women in Angola.

Angola's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Vittoria de Barros Netu, stated in his speech that the official opening of Everbright Fisheries is an important moment for the development of Angola's fisheries.

Benguela Governor Falkang praised the promoting role of Everbright Fisheries in the local economic development in his speech

The Governor of Benguela Province, Falcon, stated that the opening of three fishing companies, including Everbright Fisheries and Fuhai Atlantic, not only brings more than 800 job opportunities to the local area, but also promotes local economic development and diversified economic development in Angola.

Visit the production area

The representative of Everbright Fisheries introduced the project situation during the opening ceremony speech. Guangda Fisheries is a fishing company that integrates offshore fishing, onshore processing, external processing, and sales. The first phase investment reached 50 million US dollars, with a building area of nearly 50000 square meters including Zhong'an employee dormitories, canteens, generator rooms, sorting assembly lines, quick freezing workshops, refrigerated warehouses, and storage facilities. At present, Everbright Fisheries directly employs 500 local Angolan employees and over 100 Chinese employees. As a local enterprise in Angola, Everbright Fisheries hopes to improve the technical level of local employees by imparting fishing skills to them, and ultimately achieve the goal of operating in Angola for more than 30 years even without foreign employees.

Sorting workshop

At present, the company's quick freezing capacity is 180 tons/12 hours, and the refrigeration capacity is 5000 tons. Everbright Fisheries Company not only processes and freezes its own ship's fish cargo, but also provides external processing and freezing services, which can provide 3000 indirect job positions for local employment.

It is reported that the three-month fishing ban on trawl nets ended on July 1st, and more than ten hundreds of tons of seine and trawl fishing boats from Everbright Fishery went out to sea for operations. Another transport boat shuttled back and forth to transport supplies and fresh fish caught by the fishing boats. The Everbright Fishery Ice Machine can produce 30 tons of ice blocks per day. After fishing for fresh fish, the fishing boats immediately refrigerate and store them in the cabin. After returning to the dock, they are pumped into the sorting workshop for sorting and packaging, and then sent to the quick freezing room. After quick freezing treatment, they are stored in the refrigerated warehouse for shipment.

The Minister of Fisheries and Governor Benguela visited and inspected the frozen workshop

28 year old Francisco Ngouri is a local of Benguela and has one wife and three children. As early as the construction of the Everbright Fishery Base began, he joined the company through a friend's introduction. Later, the company began to operate, and he stayed behind. At the dock company, due to his diligence, he was also promoted to the position of suction pump assistant operator. Francisco said he cherishes the job opportunities at Everbright Fisheries and hopes that the company will continue to develop better, that he can receive further promotion, and that he can have more income in the future.

Francisco Ngouri, Assistant Pump Operator at Everbright Fishery Terminal

Ricardo from Lubango also entered Everbright Fisheries through someone else's introduction and is currently working on a sorting assembly line. This is his first time working outside of his hometown. Ricardo really enjoys this job and hopes to earn considerable income, learn skills, and have better career prospects in the future at Everbright Fisheries. Johnna, the HR manager of Everbright Fisheries, studied abroad in South Africa earlier and currently lives near a fishing company. In her thirties, Johnna is shrewd and capable, responsible for recruiting local employees, and earns several times more than regular employees.

Ricardo, an employee of the sorting assembly line at Everbright Fisheries from Lubango, Willa Province

The management personnel of Everbright Fisheries stated that after the second phase of the company's operation, the number of local employees will further increase, which will bring more employment opportunities to the local area.

Since its operation in October last year, the company has actively fulfilled its social responsibility by providing 50 beds for local hospitals, providing holiday supplies to local orphanages, and visiting and comforting children. Everbright Fisheries also plans to assist in building three wards for the Lobito Maternal and Child Hospital to improve the hospital's limited facilities.

Overlooking from the Guangda Fishery Base, the red buildings in the close-up view represent the Guangda Fishery Base

Angola has a coastline of 1650 kilometers and abundant fishery resources. However, due to outdated fishing methods and improper storage of fresh fish, it is difficult to store and transport, resulting in Angola's fish products still heavily relying on imports. The completion and operation of fishing bases such as Everbright Fisheries Company and Fuhai Atlantic Fisheries Company will gradually change this situation.

From Namibe in the south to the port city of Soyo in the north, and from the western Atlantic coast to inland provinces, Chinese companies are actively investing in areas that Angola urgently needs, such as agriculture and fisheries, to contribute to the diversification of Angola's economy.