Muscat – A RO20mn shrimp farming project with an initial production capacity of 2,100 tonnes annually has started commercial operation in Qurun in the wilayat of Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan, South Sharqiyah.

Spread over an area of 500 hectares, production is expected to be scaled up to 4,600 tonnes by 2023.

According to an official in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR), the farm is one of the investments of Fisheries Development Oman, which is affiliated to Oman Investment Authority (OIA). “The project is in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, which aims to increase gross domestic product and raise the contribution of non-oil sectors to the national economy.”

The project has an intake canal from the sea stretching over 300m to supply seawater and another canal for discharge of used water after being treated as per the local and international environmental standards, the ministry official informed.

The project includes a Maturation Unit for egg production with capacity of 1.2bn baby shrimps per year, a Post Larval Production Unit with capacity of 400mn baby shrimps, and a Nursery Unit with capacity of 250mn juvenile shrimps. The project also includes 220 grow-out ponds – each 5,041sqm, a facility for pre-processing and packing, administrative offices, warehouses, a laboratory, maintenance workshops and a labour camp with full facilities.

“The project will create several business opportunities for SMEs operating in allied industries. The project will open the door for setting up added value projects for shrimp production.

“It is expected to promote SMEs, impart technology and enhance capacity for the project’s national staff – 40 per cent Omanis. The project has set up a plan for Omanising all positions in the coming years,” the official said.

He expects the project to pave the way for the establishment of other shrimp farming projects along the Arabian Sea in South Sharqiyah and Al Wusta in cooperation with MAFWR and the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit.

In January 2020, OIA announced that it merged Blue Water, Al Wusta Fishery Industries and Oceanic Shrimp Aquaculture to establish a new company under the name of Fisheries Development Oman.

‘The consolidation of these companies is the result of the close cooperation between OIA and MAFWR. It is an example of government institutions’ cooperation with investment authorities in the sultanate to create incentives for private sector investors,’ an OIA statement said.

‘The consolidation will push forward Barr al Hikman Shrimp Aquaculture Farm, expected to be the second largest of its kind in the MENA region, with an area of 40,000 hectares and an estimated production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of shrimp annually, to a speedy completion.’