Gigante Salmon land-based farm to cost additional NOK 200 million

Bodø, Norway-based Gigante Salmon announced 7 September it expects to spend an additional NOK 200 million (USD 18.8 million, EUR 17.5 million) on its land-based Atlantic salmon farm, which is currently under construction.

Gigante Salmon is building a flow-through salmon aquaculture system on the island of Lille Indre Rosøya, Norway, with a planned 20,000 metric tons of annual production. The total cost of the project has risen to NOK 645 million (USD 60.6 million, EUR 56.4 million), the company announced in a press release.

“The cost increase is caused by general price increases, as previously communicated, in particular within electric power, in addition to changes that the company intends to make to secure fish welfare and accommodate sustainable production.” the company said. “The cost increase will be covered through a combination of equity and debt financing.”

Additionally, Gigante Salmon has delayed the release of its first smolt into the facility, initially planned for October 2023, to Q4 2023. It said it is still completing construction on its first production pool and hopes to have water in it by October.

“This [delay] will lead to production start with a larger smolt and will not change the progress plan with the first fish ready for slaughter at the end of 2024. No change in production volume is expected,” Gigante Salmon CEO Helge E. W. Albertsen said.

Albertsen said his company will supply additional information, in particular about the financing of the project, at its Q3 2023 results presentation on 24 October, 2023.

“When production starts it is with assurance that the facility is ready. Our key priority is the wellbeing of our fish at our facility,” Albertsen said.

Construction work for the facility began in September 2021, and announced business agreements with Skretting, Xylem, and Infakon in 2022.

Photo courtesy of Gigante Salmon