|
Site where the plant to produce trout will be set up, in South Africa. (Photo: Gråkjær)
Danish firm signs contract to set up trout land-based plant in South Africa
DENMARK
Friday, May 18, 2018, 03:00 (GMT + 9)
Danish firm Gråkjær has signed a contract with Cape Nordic Corporation (CNC) to supply the Conceptual Design package for a large-scale fish-production facility near Cape Town in South Africa.
The package contains the provision of design, processing equipment, supervision, project management, fish farm support, training and start-up.
South Africa has been selected in the light of an increased demand for fresh fish on the African markets.
Every year Africa imports huge quantities of salmon and trout from Europe as well as fresh Norwegian salmon.
“That is why we see major opportunities for the local production of land-based, sustainable fresh fish for the South African market at competitive prices,” pointed out Erik B. Rasmussen, Danish director of CNC.
Financing of the fish-production plant will be a combination of shareholders’ capital, bank loans, export credits and local grants.
“Since Gråkjær’s decision in 2015 to expand its fish farm construction activities, the strategy of the Aqua division has been to ensure the development of expertise and competencies on a par with those of our agricultural division,” stressed Morten Malle, Director of Gråkjær Aqua.
Malle also explained that in September 2017, Gråkjær Aqua announced that they possess the expertise and competencies it takes to deliver the water treatment system for the land-based fish farm.
Gråkjær constructs land-based fish farms in various locations in Europe in association with external contractors, who until now have provided the water treatment systems.
It is expected that this positive cooperation will continue in more construction projects, depending on the client’s wishes vis-à-vis the construction process.
“It will be up to the client to decide whether he wants the project to be carried out as an overall turnkey contract, or whether Gråkjær should only take care of the construction process or the establishment of processing technology in the fish farm,” added Malle.
The plant will contain a hatchery, first feeding, fry, a pre-smolt unit, a smolt and grow-out units and a purge system. In the first phase the fish-production plant will be able to produce 1,800 tons of sea trout per year.
The centre will have the capacity to grow from egg to a final slaughter weight of about 5.2 kg.
In the first delivery, the fish-production plant will produce sea trout, but the construction will facilitate the production of salmon in the future.
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media
|
Print
