Saudi Arabia NPC to build world largest shrimp facility

Saudi Arabia's National Prawn Company (NPC) is investing more than US$350 million to build a fully-integrated hatchery, farm and processing facility located south of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, aimed to tap into the booming global seafood market.

According to the Regional Aquaculture Information System (RAIS), the prawn farm will produce no less than 50 tonnes of prawns daily, using desert land unsuitable for agriculture or housing and water from the Red Sea.

The company presently exports in excess of 13,000 tonnes of shrimp every year to more than 30 countries.

NPC has recently commenced the construction of the second phase of the project's pond, which will significantly increase its annual production to more than 45,000 tonnes of premium quality shrimp.

This is predicted to make NPC the single largest supplier of shrimp in the world.

The multi-million dollar venture is also envisioned to be a global leader in environmentally friendly aquaculture shrimp production, boasting cutting-edge farming technologies and techniques, as well as stringent quality standards.