DEFRA funding has been key to the go-ahead for the Lerwick Port Authority is to undertake another major land reclamation project, this time to accommodate future expansion by the pelagic processing sector.
The initiative, costing just over £601,000, has received £450,759 in grant funding from the UK Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) under round two of its UK Seafood Fund Infrastructure Scheme, with funding of over £150,250 from the Port Authority.
Work to reclaim approximately 4000 square metres of new industrial land at Arlanda East, adjacent to Pelagia Shetland’s factory, will begin this summer. Following a competitive tender process, a 22-week contract to infill an area of seabed has been awarded to Shetland civil engineering company, Frank L Johnston, which undertook the original reclamation at Arlanda.
‘Reclamation projects have helped shape the modern harbour, most recently at the Holmsgarth fishing hub and the deep-water Dales Voe offshore industry support base,’ said Port Authority chief executive Captain Calum Grains.
‘The DEFRA funding is key to the latest scheme going ahead, hard off the heels of the Covid pandemic which hampered development during that time. Gaining the additional land reflects our ongoing commitment to the fishing industry generally and will enable the pelagic sector to expand its processing capability in later phases of development, encouraging higher landings and increasing exports.’
