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Airport hub

AVINOR, the authority responsible for Norway’s 46 state owned airports and air navigation services, is believed to be working with the largest exporters within the seafood industry.

Avinor has been working on a feasibility study for facilitating a new ‘world class’ seafood centre for air cargo. Norwegian exports, with salmon taking a clear lead, have been increasing apace during the past 18 months. The number of overseas markets, especially in the Middle East and Asia, has also been on the rise, which means better facilities are now needed.

The plan is for a 15,000 sq m complex to include industrial facilities built to accommodate future growth and value creation in the aquaculture industry.

Avinor has said its development ‘will be important for the Norwegian export industry at large’ and will be ‘crucial for reaching the seafood industry’s export goals in the future’.

Avinor CEO Dag Falk-Petersen said: ‘The current direct flight capacity from Norway is not sufficient to meet the increased demand for fresh seafood in Asia and North America.

‘Around 600 tonnes of Norwegian seafood is exported daily as air cargo to the world. Only 30 per cent of this goes by air from Oslo Airport, the rest is carried by land transport to Europe for flight connections to Asia and North America.

‘The main players in the Norwegian export industry want future oriented facilities at Oslo Airport.

‘These must be able to accommodate future growth, ensure top product quality and facilitate export of Norwegian seafood in an even better way. We are therefore inviting private actors in the export industry to build and operate a state-of-the-art seafood centre.’