ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- President of Tanzania's Zanzibar Hussein Ali Mwinyi on Friday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first seaweed processing plant in the Zanzibar archipelago.

       Located in the North Pemba region on Pemba Island, the plant is expected to be a boon to seaweed farmers in the region, Mwinyi said.

       The project, undertaken by the Zanzibar Seaweed Corporation in collaboration with the Britain-based company Nutri-San Limited at a cost of 7.4 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 3 million U.S. dollars), aims to process 30,000 tons of seaweed annually, which would increase the value of Zanzibar's seaweed exports.

       North Pemba regional commissioner Salama Mbarouk Khatib said more than 23,000 seaweed farmers in Zanzibar, the majority of them women, will hugely benefit from the seaweed processing plant.