Malaysia’s Borneo Lestari Sdn Bhd and the Sawit Kinabalu Group, the investment arm of the state government, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a barramundi breeding aquaculture project in the state, Bernama reported.
Borneo Lestari plans to invest MYR 85 million (USD 20.6 million, EUR 17.1 million) in the barramundi farm, which will use recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology. The project will be implemented in four phases on an area of 14.16 hectares owned by Sawit Kinabalu Group in Langkon.
The farm is expected to produce between 1,000 and 1,200 metric tons (MT) per year of barramundi once operational.
Barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, is a popular species in Southeast Asia and other regions. In Singapore, Malaysia’s neighboring country, an aquaculture firm named Barramundi Asia has strengthened its operations for years.
Founded in 2008 by ex-Marine Harvest executives Hans den Bieman and Joep Kleine Staarman, Barramundi Asia now operates farms in Singapore and Northern Australia, and has announced expansion plans in Brunei. Scholten said in early 2020 that the company was mulling over an initial public offering (IPO) as it works to scale production up to 50,000 MT by 2030.
The company uses a mostly automated farming processes, with an 18- to 24-month growth cycle, harvesting when its fish get to four to five kilograms in size.
In May 2019, the company signed an agreement with Brunei’s Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism to invest SGD 300 million (USD 225.7 million, EUR 187.7 million) to lease more than 6,000 marine hectares at the Nankivell Offshore Aquaculture Site for marine farming and an additional 25 hectares on land in Kampung Meragang to open a RAS hatchery and fish nursery. The project is expected to produce 4,000 MT of barramundi by 2024 and up to 36,000 MT by 2032, according to Bruneian news site The Scoop.
Photo courtesy of Karl Timmer/Shutterstock
