The port where the components of Aquafarm Equipment's closed containment system have arrived is located in Oxagon, the home of advanced and clean industries in NEOM.
Photo: NEOM.
The first components of Aquafarm Equipment's closed containment system are already in Saudi Arabia. The Norwegian aquaculture technology supplier unloaded them last week at the Port of NEOM, the city and economic-technological area that the Middle Eastern country is promoting in the kingdom's northwest to support the diversification of its economy and offer sustainable urban solutions.
"The elements were unloaded last week, and we're now setting up site offices, fencing the area, and preparing the foundations for assembly," said Project Manager Martin Ramstad, who will soon arrive to oversee the operations. "If everything runs smoothly, we'll start lamination within a few weeks," he added.
According to Aquafarm Equipment, with the site secured and the foundations underway, the project is moving towards full assembly and preparation for operation. The company highlighted that this is "a milestone that brings Norwegian aquaculture technology to one of the most ambitious development projects in the world."
It went further by stating that, for the Norwegian aquaculture industry, this represents more than a technical success; it is a demonstration that local innovation can scale globally, setting a new standard for closed and sustainable production in international markets.
The announcement of this delivery for Topian, the NEOM Food Company dedicated to developing food systems with a focus on sustainability and innovation, comes just two weeks after the launch of a floating closed containment in Harstad, Troms County, Norway, destined for Cermaq's Horsvågen site.
Therefore, Aquafarm Equipment is currently delivering to two completely different climates, from the icy waters of northern Norway to the desert heat of the Red Sea. "There's about a 20-degree difference between these two projects, and that's just in the air temperature," Martin Ramstad noted.
According to the Norwegian aquaculture technology supplier, this contrast perfectly illustrates how adaptable its technology is. Its closed containment systems, it explained, are designed to maintain stable and controlled environments regardless of temperature or local conditions.
This, it claimed, is proof that sustainable fish farming can thrive both in Arctic fjords and in one of the hottest regions on the planet.
"We're proving that both the technology and the team can perform in extremes – from sub-zero operations to Red Sea heat – and we hope this will open doors across the Red Sea region as well as into Asia," stated Ramstad.
Aquafarm Equipment also emphasized that, for it, this milestone is defining. NEOM is a significant international contract where it will not only deliver a cage, but will also build and operate a complete aquaculture facility for three years as a proof of concept before handover to Topian.
"In Norway, we deliver single Aquafarm units," Ramstad said. "In NEOM, we're responsible for the full-scale facility, from construction to operation. It's a big step for us as a company," the Project Manager added.
The project includes an onshore base with operations offices, a warehouse, power connections, and a feed barge. If progress continues as planned, the first yellowtail kingfish will be introduced in May or early summer 2026.
As mentioned, the NEOM project marks the first major international delivery for Aquafarm Equipment and, as the company pointed out, it is also a defining moment for Norwegian aquaculture technology on the global stage.
In fact, this is not the only Norwegian project in NEOM. Aquafarm Equipment's closed containment system project for Topian adds to the agreement announced last year between the NEOM Food Company and Norway's Pure Salmon and its technology subsidiary, Pure Salmon Technology, for the construction of a pioneering RAS salmon production facility.
