Lampedusa, Italy - A large wooden boat carrying 332 would-be immigrants, including 23 women, arrived Wednesday at the Italian islet of Lampedusa, where reception facilities are already stretched, local officials said.

The group, whose nationality was yet to be determined, would bring to over 2,000 the number of migrants on Lampedusa, a spokeswoman for the local mayor said.

Some of the latest arrivals would be housed in an existing reception centre, which is already overcrowded and is undergoing repair work for damage, including a fire, caused last month by a group of Tunisians protesting against their repatriation.

The remainder would be housed in container-like structures located at the site of a another reception camp, which is still under construction, the spokeswoman said.

Lampedusa's local authorities have organized several demonstrations protesting the Italian government's decision to open the new centre, which they say threatens the island's main tourism industry.

According to Italian government figures, a total of 36,900 would- be immigrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2008, a 75-per-cent increase over the previous year. Of these some
31,000 landed on Lampedusa (dpa)