MUSCAT, JUNE 8 - Oman Aquaculture Development Company (OADC), a subsidiary of Oman Investment Fund (OIF) — a sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman, is spearheading the development of a world-scale shrimp farm at Barr Al Hikman in Al Wusta Governorate. The ambitious project is the largest of a substantial portfolio of shrimp-based investments that OADC is making in driving the growth of a viable aquaculture industry in the Sultanate.
The Barr Al Hikman Shrimp farm, envisioning an investment of around RO 150 million in the first phase alone, will produce an estimated 43,000 tonnes per annum of Indian White Shrimp — an output that will effectively place it among the largest projects of its kind in the world.
Together with other large-scale shrimp farms planned by OADC elsewhere in the Sultanate, this project will also potentially put Oman on the global map of shrimp producers and exporters.
OADC is looking at a sprawling 8,000 hectare land-based site for the development of the mammoth venture in several phases. Assisting the company in securing the necessary land and other approvals for the landmark venture is the Implementation Support and Follow-up Unit (ISFU), a task force set up under the auspices of the Diwan of Royal Court to drive Oman’s economic diversification. Also facilitating this effort are the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Ministry of Housing, and Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs.
Given the mega-scale of the project, and in light of the importance of ensuring that the massive venture will have no impact on the sensitive ecology of Barr Al Hikman — famous for its mudflats — OADC is currently focused on undertaking a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A reputed international consultant is currently being contracted to carry out this study — which is expected to be a yearlong exercise given the project size, according to officials. The first harvest is targeted in 2023.
Significantly, the Barr Al Hikman project is one of four large-scale shrimp-based investments being pursued by OADC at key locations in Muscat, South Al Sharqiyah and Al Wusta governorates.
Also under various stages of initial development are shrimp farms at Khuwameh in Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, Qurun in Jaalan Bani Bu Hassan and Al Jazer in Al Wusta Governorate. Oceanic Shrimp Aquaculture LLC, a holding company established under OADC, has been mandated to attract investments in shrimp cultivation, processing, product development, branding and marketing — local and international.
Oman’s rapidly growing aquaculture industry envisions an output of 200,000 tonnes per annum of farmed fisheries by 2040, fuelled by strong growth averaging 15 per cent annually. Aquaculture has the potential to create a “profitable world-class sector that is ecologically sustainable and a net contributor to Oman’s economy”, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
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