A report released Saturday by a civic group calling for the suspension of the Isahaya Bay land reclamation project in Nagasaki Prefecture says the 249 billion yen cost of the project will outweigh its economic benefits.
The project, which was commenced in 1986 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal 2006, is at the center of a dispute between the government that is promoting it and local seaweed farmers, who blame it for declining crops in nearby areas. The group, comprised of locals who want to save the remainder of the Isahaya tideland, worked with experts on fiscal finance and environmental policies to produce the report.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries project would reclaim about 3,500 hectares in the innermost area of Isahaya Bay and create around 1,800 hectares of farmland. Dikes have already been built across the mouth of the bay.