Oman to develop 8 large aquaculture projects

Business Tuesday 03/January/2017 17:24 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman to develop 8 large aquaculture projects

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce within weeks the names of the winners of large-scale commercial aquaculture projects at eight sites. The ministry selected these sites for development in June 2016 and sought applications from potential investors.
“We will tell investors about the successful applications, and then these companies can start their feasibility studies and apply for environmental permits,” Dr. Hamed Said Al Oufi, undersecretary of fisheries wealth at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, told Times of Oman.
He said that a commercial licence will be awarded to these winning companies after they conduct their feasibility studies and receive environmental permits. “They have six months to complete their studies and get permits,” he said.
Encouraging response
Referring to the encouraging response from investors for developing aquaculture projects in Oman, the undersecretary said 40 applications were submitted to develop eight sites launched in June.
“We are aiming for 200,000 tonnes of high-value fish per annum from aquaculture projects by 2030. These are mostly for export and the local market,” added Dr. Al Oufi. Norway produces 1.2 million tonnes of fish from aquaculture projects, and the size of the European country is similar to Oman.
Eliminate the gap
Once these projects begin operating, it will help to eliminate the gap in supply and demand in the domestic market as well.
He also said that five companies have already received commercial licences for starting aquaculture projects, and these ventures are coming up in different places, including Quriyyat, Sharqiya and Dhofar region.
One aquaculture project is for raising abalone in Dhofar region, other one for a shrimp project in Jaalan (Sharqiya) and another one is planned in Quriyyat. The shrimp project is expected to produce anywhere between 3,000 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes of shrimp per annum.
“Now they are obtaining equipment, importing cages, etc,” said Dr Al Oufi. These five are among 18 projects that received an initial ministry clearance and environmental permits.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has major plans to develop aquaculture farms and boost production from these projects to strengthen the value of the Sultanate’s fisheries.