PRAN-RFL to invest €30m in fish farming with Danish firm

PRAN-RFL Group has partnered with Denmark’s Assentoft Aqua to establish an indoor, fully controlled intensive fish farming facility in Bangladesh using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology, marking a significant move into industrial-scale aquaculture.

RAS technology treats and reuses water through filtration, enabling high-density fish production with minimal environmental impact.

Habiganj Agro Limited, a sister concern of PRAN-RFL Group, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Assentoft Aqua today at the PRAN Centre in Dhaka, according to a press release.

The proposed project involves an estimated investment of €30 million.

According to the MoU, the facility will be developed in multiple phases, with the preferred location at the Mirsharai Economic Zone or another mutually agreed site. The investment is expected to be rolled out over the next two years in two to three phases.

The project will primarily focus on farming Asian seabass, with scope to introduce other high-value species such as grouper and hilsa.

The target harvest size is set at 1,200 to 1,500 grams per fish. Most of the output will be export-oriented, while a portion may be supplied to the domestic market.

Once fully operational, the facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of around 2,000 tonnes.

Eleash Mridha, managing director of PRAN Group, said the initiative would introduce RAS technology to Bangladesh’s aquaculture sector and enable seabass production at an industrial scale for the first time in the country.

Olesen said Marisco ApS, an associate of Assentoft Aqua, has been engaged with Bangladeshi enterprises since 2016 and has secured Danish government-backed financing for RAS-based aquaculture projects, expressing confidence in the success of the new partnership.

The agreement was signed by Naser Ahmed, executive director of Habiganj Agro Limited, and Jens Ole Olesen, business development director of Assentoft Aqua, on behalf of their respective organisations. Senior officials from both sides were present at the signing ceremony.