Marine Harvest reveals new £80m feed plant site
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A QUARRY at Kyleakin is the preferred site for a new £80m fish feed plant which will create 55 jobs.
Marine Harvest Scotland said it had chosen Altanavaig quarry after consideration of a number of different sites on the west coast.
The announcement comes just weeks after the Norwegian-owned giant said it was axing 80 jobs, which includes posts in Wester Ross, because of a "restructuring".
The new plant will produce feed for use on the firm’s Scottish farms, as well as for Ireland, Norway and the Faroes.
Marine Harvest said the new jobs would be full-time and permanent posts.
Ben Hadfield, of Marine Harvest, said: "We are delighted to have found a site which sits at the heart of our operations – one that is already an industrial site but which has not been fully utilised for some time.
"We would like to have the chance to bring it back to life and provide well-paid jobs, as well as taking the opportunity to produce our feed in the most sustainable way.
"This is a large investment in Scotland and the development of a feed plant here is part of our overall drive to become a more efficient and sustainable business.
"We hope this will be a major boost for the local economy and we are keen to start discussions with the local community and hear their views about our proposals."
The company will now start consultation with the local community as part of the planning application process.
Public exhibitions are to be held in Kyleakin Village Hall on Monday April 18 and Kyle Free Church of Scotland Hall on Tuesday April 19. Both exhibitions will be open from 11am until 8pm.
These initial exhibitions will explain the work the company plan to undertake to prepare their planning application.
Staff from Marine Harvest will be available to answer questions. They will also be keen to gather information from local people about the site and understand any issues they may have.
Construction of the plant will take between a year and 18 months and Marine Harvest believe it could be up by 2018, depending on the planning process.
Around four acres of the site will be used to accommodate the buildings which will include the processing plant itself as well as raw material storage silos, product storage and packaging, a loading area and car parking. The existing pier will need to be extended.
