View of the construction progress, including the harbour area, at the Andfjord Salmon site in Kvalnes, Andøya, Norway, in June 2025.
Photo: Andfjord Salmon Group.
Norwegian aquaculture company Andfjord Salmon has mounted a compensation claim exceeding NOK 1 billion against its main contractor, AF Hæhre & Contur Ans, alleging what it describes as "grossly negligent performance" and "wilful breach of contract" during the construction of its land-based aquaculture facility at Kvalnes on Andøya.
According to the company, the claim reflects previously announced budget adjustments, including the NOK 500 million increase to the capital expenditure budget reported in May, alongside earlier revisions.
"The claim is related to recovery of incurred costs resulting from the
contractor's gross negligence in executing construction methods recommended by the contractor, insufficient cost control, inadequate project management and prioritization of work, incorrect invoicing, and compensation for costs and losses arising from the contractor's wilful breach of contract," the company said in a stock exchange announcement.
While Andfjord Salmon maintains that the construction method itself remains solid, it says the contractor failed to complete the work within the agreed financial framework.
The dispute does not affect its farming activities, and operations continue unchanged, the company said.
Andfjord Salmon’s last production cycle ended in June 2023. Since then, it has been developing new pools, harbour facilities, and waterways to support large-scale farming, and announced a revised build-out plan that would see it increase production capacity by 20%. According to the company, the Kvalnes site is being built to handle a future capacity of about 48,100 tonnes of salmon (HOG plus post-smolt).
Andfjord's first pool was completed in 2022 and the company announced its next phase, pool K1, was finished in September. Work on pool K3 is now also nearing completion, with the company stating that further new pools will not be required until spring or summer 2026.
Over recent months the company has released NOK 1.1 billion smolt into pools K0 and K1, reporting strong survival and growth rates.
The company said it has already begun discussions with potential replacement contractors for pools K2 and K4, and estimates mobilisation costs of about NOK 20 million for switching contractors, which it expects will have only a limited effect on its production schedule.
The legal developments follow Andfjord Salmon's announcement in October that experienced construction industry executive Gro Skaar Knutsen was taking up a senior operational role overseeing construction work at the Kvalnes site.
