Merlus inaugurates N$70 million Cormorant fishing factory

Merlus Cormorant Fishing is a new wet fish processing plant factory located in Walvis Bay, designated for the production of high-end market-ready consumer products for premium markets. Although the facility was constructed at a cost of N$70 million, the investment needed to be supplemented by the addition of a wet-fish trawler at a cost of N$34 million to ensure that enough product is harvested for the new factory. A new Styrofoam factory was constructed on a recently acquired N$50 million property to supply the new wet fish processing plant with the specialised packaging material required for the ultra-delicate nature of the long-line and wet-fish export market. With these two additions to the new factory, the quantum of total investments made by the Merlus Group for this project alone is a staggering N$154 million.The Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Derek Klazen hailed the factory as a giant leap of faith in the Namibian fishing industry, particularly in light of business confidence having been subjected to severe negative pressure post-Covid.“These types of investments are a testimony to the resilience of the business-friendly and conducive policies the Namibian government fosters to attract foreign and domestic investments into the country’s economy.” Klazen added that it also speaks to the heart of the growth at the home strategy of the Namibian government, where industries are encouraged to put up high value-added processing capacities at locations where the raw materials are available, instead of creating manufacturing capacities at the locations of the end markets at the cost of local employment. “I am particularly encouraged that this type of investment encompasses all five of the policy initiatives of my ministry, namely value addition, job creation, product development, market diversification and local consumption.”EmploymentThis addition to the existing two factories of the Merlus Group brings the total output of finished high-end consumer products of the group to 13 000 metric tonnes, ready to be exported to the premium European markets. “The factory is capable of employing up to 440 people at optimal capacity. Due to quota availability, the factory started operations with only 220 people, which will boost the group's total employment figure to 1 400 people. This is indeed good news and I am extremely pleased to be informed that there is an additional capacity to employ another 220 people,” the minister said.Klazen reiterated that the responsible and sustainable utilisation of marine resources has the potential to generate foreign currency for the economy as well as provide food for a large number of people, and to serve as an alternative to the sources of food in a country where traditional farming activities cannot provide a constant supply of food due to social and climatic conditions.

Merlus inaugurates N$70 million Cormorant fishing factory

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Republikein 2025-05-02

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Merlus inaugurates N$70 million Cormorant fishing factory

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