Representatives of Salfjord and Tverås Maskin og Transport in the plot where the land-based salmon farm will be located.
Photo: Salfjord.
Norwegian land-based aquaculture company Salfjord announced today that it has signed a major contract with Tverås Maskin og Transport for the development of the company's land at the Tjeldbergodden industrial park in Aure, in the Nordmøre region. Valued at more than NOK 100 million (EUR 8.4 million / USD 9.3 million), this signing marks the kick-off of the groundwork for its land-based salmon farm that will commence in November.
The contract amount - whose value is higher than the contract sum alone, as revenues from the sale of minerals are not included in the contract and will be shared between the companies - covers the development of the entire Salfjord land for which a permit for salmon smolt production and land-based farming was obtained in July last year. This is the plot for the first phase of construction to be prepared for building start in 2026.
"This marks the start of the construction project and is an important milestone for us," said today the CEO of Salfjord, Hans Ramsvik. "There was significant interest from subcontractors, and we received several good offers," he added.
The choice between those bids ultimately fell to Tverås Maskin og Transport, which, according to the announcement, submitted the best bid. However, Ramsvik explained that its good reputation and reference projects in the aquaculture industry also played a role in the bidding process. "Tverås Maskin og Transport has, among other projects, assisted Sinkaberg Hansen in the development of the Svaberget industrial area in Nærøy municipality," he explained.
For the planning of the project, and also for the selection of the subcontractor, Salfjord has been assisted by Dag Øveraas and Sindre Moldskred from Norconsult Ålesund. Norconsult is the largest engineering consultancy firm in Sunnmøre, and has also supported Salfjord in the planning processes at Tjeldbergodden and at Salfjord II in Hyttneset, further west in the municipality of Aure. It will also act as project manager during the field work at Tjeldbergodden.
Last year, the County Council of Møre og Romsdal in western Norway granted Salfjord a permit to cultivate salmon on land for a maximum standing biomass of 21,000 tons which, as WeAreAquaculture reported then, is equivalent to the capacity of 27 licenses for traditional fish farming in the sea. It enables an annual production of 36,500 tons of head-on gutted (HOG) salmon and, additionally, the production of 30 million smolts annually.
As the company itself acknowledges, the next few months will be hectic for it. In addition to land development starting in November, a major capital raising in which the company is engaged will also begin shortly.
"We are fully focused on capital raising, and we are therefore very pleased to have skilled and trustworthy partners in Tverås and Norconsult, who will ensure progress on the groundwork," Salfjord's CEO, Hans Ramsvik, concluded.
