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Plenty of seaweed to go round promises Uist developer 11/6/11
An ambitious £20 million seaweed factory proposed for South Uist will not starve rival processors of supplies pledged the businessman behind the project.
David MacKie of Ayrshire-
His remarks came after local concerns that virtually all seaweed resources in the islands or even on the Scottish west coast would be required to supply the large fine chemical processing facility and keep the target number of 60 employees in work.
Originally, the firm indicated twenty more jobs may be available but this week it reduced its figures down to 40 factory posts and 20 cutters. The company would also import required staff from the mainland.
Marine Biopolymers is looking at setting up a pilot plant at the former West Minch Salmon fish hatchery at Crooked River before building a large plant on land being developed for industrial use in Lochboisdale.
Mr Mackie said that local businessman Angus Macmillan is an advisor to the firm and helping them to progress the project.
Mr Macmillan is the chairman of Storas Uibhist, and former owner of West Minch Salmon. He is also one of two directors of Lochboisdale Development Ltd, the company which is receiving £10 million for the wider industrial infrastructure and regeneration project at Lochboisdale.
To expand beyond the Crooked River pilot stage a large factory would be built on Gasaigh Island, on the seaward approaches to Lochboisdale harbour, in 2013, after the roads and causeways are built.
However, many islanders feel the seaweed factory should be established in the former Gramsdale fish processing factory, now empty and disused since West Minch salmon closed it recently.
Some feel this centralised location on Benbecula would serve the Uists much better and reduce the 500 miles round weekly drive for potential workers from North Uist.
David MacKie said he had approached Storas Uibhist in 2009.
He added: “There is also no expectation that the commercial seaweed operations of this proposal would affect the amount of seaweed available for crofters to use on croft land.”
Mr Mackie said seaweed will be used to manufacture a range of speciality and fine chemicals. The main product would be alginate for food, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications.
This would add substantial value to the seaweed, substantially higher than usign
it for agricultural use for bio-
Mr Mackie said: “Our plans are at an early stage, though we have made substantial progress to date and we are working to move the project forward to a pilot scale in the near term, and this will help us confirm the processes we intend to use for the various products at full scale.
“We are keen to locate the business in South Uist for a variety of reasons, and Stòras Uibhist has been supportive as we seek to develop our business plans and eventually create up to 60 jobs in the locality.”