[saraprobe]

Thursday, December 11, 2008, 14:05 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Dec 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka plans to implement a multi-sensor surveillance system to protect its Exclusive Economic Zone which covers 517 000 square kilometers around 1,770 km of Sri Lanka's coastline.

The Cabinet today approved a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Felix Perera to accept a proposal by Frequentis AG to implement a multi-sensor surveillance system under the signed bilateral MoU with the Federal Republic of Austria.

The Director General, External Resources, is to negotiate with Raiffeisen Zentralbank AG of Austria to finance 85% of the cost of the project amounting to 35 million Euros.

Marine fisheries are of considerable social and economic importance around the entire country’s coastline and fisheries sector is an important part of Sri Lanka’s economy.