Outboard engine service centre opened in South

Galle: An outboard engine service and repair facility centre supported by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was formally inaugurated in Dodanduwa, Galle District on May 11.

It caters for about 350 boats with three to four fishermen working on each boat (approximately 1,200 families) in an area where access to appropriate servicing facility is extremely limited, GTZ said.

"This centre will considerably impact the daily life of fishermen who would otherwise have had no choice but to travel to other agencies in the nearest town, Matara, 55 kilometres away, even for minor repairs. This would have incurred additional transport costs, time delays and therefore substantial loss of income for these men and their families", explains Michel Jamar, GTZ Senior Advisor.

The centre is co-financed by one of the components of the GTZ - assisted project "Promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises" (PMSME) which connects the objectives of short-term reconstruction to the perspectives of a longer term economic development. The overall objective of the project is to restore and in the medium term increase the economic strength of the supported micro, small and medium enterprises in tsunami-affected areas.

Immediately after the tsunami, GTZ started financial and technical support as part of its emergency, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in affected districts. In November 2005, at the request of the fishing community in Dodanduwa, the PMSME Project team initiated support to re-establish the outboard engine agency and repair centre.

The project was conducted in partnership with Yamaha. The Japanese enterprise supplied the centre with engine parts and trained its technical staff while the German side funded the rehabilitation of the centre and provided training and advice to manage the company. Over the year, GTZ will also provide short-term monitoring, assist in the implementation of the book keeping and provide technical support for further organizational development and expansion of the activities.

Due to the tsunami, about 75 percent of the fishing fleet (boats and outboard engines) were destroyed. Subsequently, as part of donor assistance programs, significant numbers of boats and engines were donated. This resulted in an increase in outboard motors in Sri Lanka amounting today to about 12,000, which represents a 50 per cent rise since the Tsunami.