AKVA seals Cermaq Chile contract

It was just over three months ago that Cermaq confirmed it was planning to build the new plant.

The value of the contract is estimated at €30m – around £24m sterling.

In October last year it was announced that AKVA was favourite for the contract, and that a letter of intent between the two business had been signed. AKVA had already started engineering and site work in Chile. 

It had been thought earlier in the year that Billund might get the deal, but that company ceased trading during the summer.

Called Nueva PCC, Mitsubishi-owned Cermaq said earlier this year that the project will be one of its most important in the region.

 It will have a production capacity of 14 million smolts per year. Cermaq Chile said the second stage of the PCC (Post-Larval Capture and Cultivation) farm will be called Canal de Chacao Fish Farm.

 The fully automated project, which will be the company’s largest in Chile, will allow the complete fish cycle to be carried out in fresh water, producing smolts from eyed eggs, with a minimum average weight of 150 grammes.

This is AKVA’s second major deal in just a few months. Three weeks ago it landed a €20m (£17m) technology contract with Laxey of Iceland.