January 24, 2008

SeaArk Africa embarks on pilot project  
 

A high-tech Eastern Cape business announced a further international business breakthrough yesterday.

Sea Ark, which produces prawns at Coega, announced the signing of a R70 million (US$9.7 million) agreement for the use of its locally developed prawn farming system.

A commercial pilot plant will be developed by Sea Ark at the existing open-pond prawn farming facility of Al Faulk Group in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Sea Ark stated that the pilot project will establish the commercial viability of Sea Ark's advanced closed-pond technology in farming a Mediterranean brown shrimp variety known as panaeus indicus.

The biosecure technology was perfected in South Africa after 15 years of research in the US and locally, and this technology will be deployed in the Al Faulk pilot project just as it was at the Coega faciliy.

Sea Ark had announced its decision to develop a 1,200 hectare, high-tech giant prawn farming facility last December. Many of Sea Ark¡®s patented processes in the Jeddah pilot project will be run remotely from Coega.

Sea Ark Africa is 100% owned by the Bosasa Group of companies.