Al Arabiya publishes details of fishermen’s financing plan

Al Arabiya has obtained details of the fisheries financing schemes offered by the municipality in partnership with Qatar Development Bank to develop the marine fishing industry. The schemes include financing for fishing boats, equipment, engines and refrigeration units.
The scheme provides financing of up to 350,000 riyals per fishing vessel, as well as financing for the purchase of new vessels, and up to 250,000 riyals for fishing equipment, engines and refrigeration units.
The program provides the opportunity to repay the loan over 6 years, with a maximum grace period of two months. In addition to the insurance premium, the profit starts from 1%.
Under the scheme, the financing amount for each wooden boat is estimated at 250,000 riyals, excluding the purchase of a new boat and the 100,000 riyals paid for fishing equipment. The maximum term is 5 years, with a grace period of only two months, and the profit percentage starts at 1% plus insurance premium.
The Fish Wealth Financing Program is one of the forms of support provided to fishermen, as the fisheries sector enjoys a comprehensive support program provided by the Ministry of Municipalities, which includes financial support of approximately 15,000 riyals per year for wooden fishing boats, and approximately 10,000 riyals for private wooden boats, in addition to fuel support, the provision of crushed ice, and environmentally friendly bread storage and transportation bags for all fishing boats and vessels.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs has set out a series of necessary conditions for obtaining support: the fishing license must be valid, the vessel’s sea trips must be verified, and requests for support must be submitted no less than twice a month in the six months preceding the approval date.
Applicants are also required to comply with laws and regulations relating to aquatic living resources, not have committed any offences within one year prior to the date of application submission, and to enter and exit vessels through the following methods: The main ports of entry (Al Wakrah, Doha, Al Khor and Ruwais) must be approved.
The initiative proposed by the ministry is to address obstacles and meet the needs of fishermen to develop the country’s fish wealth.