Nova Sea signs £50m slaughterhouse contract

Norwegian salmon farmer Nova Sea has signed a £50m (NOK 673m) contract to build a new slaughterhouse in Nordland.

The deal with the construction company Consto will see an ultra-modern facility on the small island of Lovund.

It is in the area where Nova Sea began its fish farming operations in the 1970s. The new plant will cover more than 17,000 square metres, spread over four floors.

The slaughterhouse will have a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes of salmon annually with the possibility of future expansion.

Consto said the facility will be connected to the existing administration building of Nova Sea.

Nova Sea CEO Tom Eirik Aasjord added: “We are investing heavily in Lovund and are building a new slaughterhouse that will ensure the best possible quality of our products and even better fish welfare and fish health in the processing process.

“We are going to increase our further processing to two fillet lines, which in turn will generate more jobs.”

He said the old slaughterhouse was getting cramped, but with the new facility everything will be better for both fish and the staff who worked there.

“We have contributed to developing local communities on Helgeland for more than 50 years, and with our new venture we are getting ready to contribute to positive development on Helgeland for the next 50 years,” Aasfjord added.

Consto Project Development Manager, Torgeir Ingebrigtsen, said: “We are humbled and grateful for the trust Nova Sea has shown us in the process we have been through with them.

“An optimisation process has been going on for six weeks. The competition was tough, and we are proud to have entered into a partnership with Nova Sea.”