On Tuesday, it became clear that Lerøy Seafood is investing NOK 158 million to renew its factory in Kjøllefjord. – It is absolutely fantastic that they want to invest so much in the facility. It gives us more opportunities, says Sofie Krogh Rasmussen. The 28-year-old lives in Kjøllefjord and works at the factory, which has just under 40 employees. She believes that her workplace will now become more attractive and predictable, where you can now get seafood production throughout the year, which is not the case today. Sofie Krogh Rasmussen hopes that processing fish all year round can lure young people to Kjøllefjord to have a predictable job. Photo: Andrè Bendixen The investment shows that Lerøy is investing heavily in the fishing village, located in Lebesby municipality along the coast of Finnmark. A municipality with around 1,200 inhabitants. – This investment means securing year-round jobs and operations at the plant, as well as good ripple effects in the local community, says Børge Soleng, who is general manager of Lerøy Seafood. Lerøy’s factory in Kjøllefjord will now be refurbished for millions. Crab and whitefish are processed at the factory. Photo: André Bendixen / news – You almost don’t believe it The investment in Lerøy comes the day after the government presented its plan to refurbish the harbor in Kjøllefjord. The harbor is to be upgraded for over 200 million. This includes, among other things, a new breakwater and a deeper harbour. The budget leak is given to Lebesby only days before there is an election, where the election result in the municipality could have major consequences for the government’s goal to electrify the gas plant on Melkøya. Including Lerøy’s venture, we are talking about investments in Kjøllefjord totaling close to NOK 400 million. – It is one of the biggest investments of all time. It’s absolutely enormous, and it’s almost so you can’t believe it yourself, says mayor Sigurd Rafaelsen (Ap). – It’s amazing what can be achieved when business, the state, the municipality and the county work together. Now we just enjoy ourselves. Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen is mayor of Lebesby municipality, which has approximately 1,200 inhabitants. He believes Lerøy’s investment means a lot for jobs in the municipality. Photo: Hanna Johre / news The mayoral candidate for the Center Party in Lebesby, Johnny Myhre, also welcomes the plans. – We are very positive about the port. That should lead to others also coming on board, and then we are positive that Lerøy is reacting so immediately, he says. Denies having known about the government’s plans news has known for several days that Lerøy would present news about the factory in Kjøllefjord. Stig Nilsen, who is the government contact at Lerøy Seafood, denies that there has been any collaboration with the government to present this news this week. – Had you made this large investment without plans for a new fishing port? – We have taken this decision without knowing anything about it. But of course we had hoped that in the end it would be successful, and that the breakwater would come, but that was not in the cards when we made that decision, he says. Sofie Krogh Rasmussen and her colleagues can look forward to a new building in 2025. Photo: Andrè Bendixen Hoping for more young colleagues As it stands now, the mayor of Lebesby believes that the future looks bright. – It shows a belief in the future in Kjøllefjord as a fishing community. It also shows a belief in the future for us who live here. There will be lots of activities and there will be big investments. This is incredibly fun, says Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen (Ap). Sofie Krogh Rasmussen at the factory hopes that a more modern fish reception will attract more young colleagues. – I hope so. Those who want to and think it is an exciting workplace.
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Lerøy invests big in Kjøllefjord in Finnmark – invests NOK 158 million in a new factory – news Troms and Finnmark
