The chairman of the Shipyard Services Authority Board, Director of Commerce Keniseli Lafaele, envisions that the new building to be constructed at the government shipyard at Satala will serve as a venue where apprentices will be taught different trades and existing tradesmen can hone their skills.
The facility will house under one roof, workshops that are now spread out in the shipyard.
At the groundbreaking for the new building yesterday, Lafaele referred to the new solar energy project that is now supplying 100% of Tau island’s electricity.
He highlighted that 15 young men from Manu’a built the system and said that’s the type of opportunity which the shipyard improvement project would open up.
It’s the vision of the Shipyard Services Authority and the Lolo Lemanu administration that the new building is where the young people of Tutuila and Manua will learn various trades associated with the repair and even construction of boats.
Lafaele announced that the design for the super alia was received last week and it’s their intention that the building will be where the requisite skills for construction of the super alia will be taught and mastered.
When it was first proposed, the super alia was described as a boat that would be slighter larger than 40 feet, equipped with enhanced safety features not available on the smaller alia boats and would be able to reach farther distances and stay out at sea longer.
The design of the super alia is said to be based on what local fishermen said would be suitable for the type of fishing that they engage in.
A local company, Pago Pago Marine Charters, owned by Peter Crispin, already building fishing and recreational boats.
