Santiago, Chile-based Australis Seafoods has advanced 20 percent in building a USD 70 million (EUR 59 million) salmonid processing plant in Puerto Natales, in southern Chile’s Magallanes region, but not without reproach.
The plant – designed to process 72,000 tons of salmon per year and employ 400 people – is slated to open in the second half of 2021, Australis Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Manager Josefina Moreno told local publication SalmonExpert. She said the plant would be “one of the most modern in the world.”
According to Radio del Mar, plans include the building of 16 structures on seven hectares of land, one kilometer due south of the town of Puerto Natales, population 20,000. The plant would process salmon for export to markets such as the U.S., Japan, and Russia, and would include areas for the reception and storage of materials, an industrial wastewater treatment plant, and a one-kilometer submarine emissions pipeline for discharging treated waste.
The company is positioning the plant as a source of employment for Puerto Natales residents, and says it will be using advanced technology for reduced water and energy consumption. However, residents question the fact that the plant is to be built just 370 meters from the site where the regional government plans to construct 318 social housing units. Residents will be affected by noise pollution, odors, and industrial waste created by the plant’s operations, they say.
According to Loreto Vásquez, member of the citizens association Ultima Esperanza – the province where Puerto Natales is located – in order to get construction approval, Australis only presented an environmental impact statement for the installation; residents had requested a full environmental impact study.
"In the case of the environmental impact statement, this is usually just a promoter of productive projects," she told Radio del Mar.
Puerto Natales citizens organizations called into question the transparency and integrity of the approval process, saying that during the project’s final evaluation and presentation, the regional director of the Magallanes Environmental Impact Assessment Service at the time, Karina Bastidas, acted more as a lobbyist for Australis than an impartial regulator, Radio del Mar reported.
“This area is a place of immense natural wealth, a privileged place in the world and for the local, regional, and national tourism industry,” former regional councilor Antonieta Oyarzo told Radio del Mar. “The vast majority of Puerto Natales residents want a sustainable city that grows in harmony with nature.”
Without an environmental impact study, Vásquez said, residents can’t know whether the new facility will match that vision.
“The unclear use of public spaces has made neighbors enter into conflict. This industry has divided the community,” she said.
In June 2019, Australis Seafoods was acquired for USD 922 million (EUR 837 million) by the Joyvio Group, a subsidiary of Legend Holding, one of the largest companies in China.
