Qatar
Maskar success highlighted by Good Design Award
Maskar success highlighted by Good Design Award
The Qatar-funded Maskar fishery processing plant in Japan has been honoured with the 2013 Good Design Award, marking the culmination of a journey that has seen the once-famous saury fishing industry making giant strides to return to its former glory. |
In October 2013, HE the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah handed over the ceremonial keys of the $24mn fishery processing plant in Onagawa to the local fish buyers’ association.
Designed to help rebuild the fishing sector in Onagawa, a small town on the Japanese east coast famous for its vibrant fishing industry - an industry that had been almost entirely devastated by the massive tsunami of March 2011, the plant was the first project in Japan to be completed as part of the Qatar Friendship Fund (QFF) in partnership with the Nippon Foundation. It saw significant results last year, culminating in the 2013 Good Design Award.
Thanks to the QFF, the multi-functional fishery processing centre has already created employment for more than 1,000 local people and is eventually expected to have a market value and spillover effect of over 65bn Japanese yen. Maskar encompasses sorting, refrigeration and storage facilities and, as the first project to be completed by the QFF, is seen as the blueprint for future success.
Established in 1957, the Good Design Award is a comprehensive programme for the evaluation and encouragement of design organised by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. The award is based on the belief that good design can help break the cycle of poverty and it has been given to outstanding design for over 50 years in the pursuit of more prosperous lives and industrial development.
A total of 794 companies and 1,212 designs were awarded in 2013, including 10 candidates for Good Design Grand Award, candidates for the Good Design Best 100, the Good Design Gold Award and other special awards.
Maskar sets global benchmarks by virtue of cutting-edge tsunami-proof technology and design. Besides, the use of renewable energy through solar power generation means that the centre is not only environment-friendly but also highly economical in the long term.
Manabu Chiba, judge for the Good Design Award, said: “The design of Maskar is simple yet powerful, the cross-sectional construction will help ward off tsunamis and is therefore very practical. The fact that the fishery facility was built by the shore with the help of the QFF is of great comfort to the Onagawa area.”