The central province of Binh Dinh has allowed Vietnam-Australia Seafood Company to develop a major shrimp farming and processing project using greenhouse technology on 300 hectares in Phu My district, the Saigon Times Daily reports.

The Daily cited the provincial investment promotion centre as saying that the 800 billion VND (36.7 million USD) project in My Thanh commune will produce quality shrimp for export to Europe, the United States, Japan and other markets.

In addition, the company will sell shrimp to seafood processing enterprises in the province and other localities in Vietnam.

The investor is allowed to set up a shrimp farming area of 100 hectares in phase one of the project. Later, the province will allocate the remaining 200 hectares to the firm to expand production and construct a processing factory.

Vietnam-Australia Seafood Company plans to use technologies including Israeli greenhouse, water filtration and treatment of the US and the Netherlands, and bio-substances for its shrimp farm in the central province.

The enterprise said these technologies are suitable to weather conditions in Vietnam and can help reduce costs and risks and increase yields. The water filtration and treatment technologies will ensure a stable water environment for shrimp and do not cause pollution.

Phu My district has favorable conditions for shrimp farms. However, many shrimp farms consume too much freshwater and discharge untreated wastewater directly to the environment. Therefore, the company’s shrimp farming model is encouraged to back sustainable shrimp farming and improvement of economic efficiency.

The Binh Dinh Investment Promotion Centre said the project is listed in the sectors the Government encourages as stated in Decree 210 and the province’s Decision 3480/QD-UBND to call for investments in agriculture in 2014-2020. It is also in line with the province’s zoning plan for hi-tech shrimp farming until 2020 with a vision towards 2030.

Apart from Binh Dinh province, Vietnam-Australia Seafood Company has applied greenhouse technology to over 50 hectares under shrimp cultivation in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, according to the Daily.-VNA