Over 2,680 Mersing residents take part in ECERDC programme

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 2,680 locals in Mersing, Johor, mostly from the bottom 40 per cent household income group (B40), have participated and benefited from initiatives under the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC)'s human capital development programme.

This included 1,800 students under the empower ECER Academic Training arm, 600 individuals under the empower ECER Skills and Entrepreneurship Training and more than 280 under the entrepreneur ECER training.

“About 97 per cent of all participants are from the B40 category,” the ECERDC said in a statement yesterday.

B40 refers to the bottom 40 per cent of households with monthly income of RM3,900 and below.

The ECERDC said Mersing's position as a fishery production hub would be strengthened with the development of the Endau-Mersing Integrated Fish Processing Park slated for construction by end-2017.

The project, which is under the 11th Malaysia Plan, will be fully equipped with the necessary infrastructure and support services such as cold room, ice factory, as well as factory facilities for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and additional fishing boats.

It said in addition to ensuring consistent supply of raw materials to the SMEs, the park would also improve product quality in accordance with international food safety and traceability requirements which would inevitably boost the prospect of fish-based products being exported from Mersing.

Once completed, the park will be managed via the SME Park Management Model to lower the cost of entry for SMEs and this project would benefit more than 3,000 people involved in Mersing's fisheries industry, it added.

Apart from this, the construction of the Sultan Iskandar Sea Park Information and Service Centre, a one-stop information centre at Pulau Besar, is expected to begin in July this year. — Bernama