Building the world’s largest seafood terminal

This marks the beginning of a new business cluster in the seafood industry, with the creation of thousands of jobs.

"Oslo Airport City now represents one of the most significant and biggest urban and site developments of our time. We are planning for sustainable development at Norway’s national hub in Gardermoen," says Thor Thoeneie, CEO, Oslo Airport City.

Record turnover

In recent years, the Norwegian seafood industry has celebrated ever-increasing record turnovers. Last year, during the pandemic, the industry crossed the magical NOK 100 billion mark in annual revenue. The Norwegian Seafood Council collaborates closely with Norwegian fisheries and the aquaculture industry to develop new markets and further enhance existing markets for Norwegian seafood. The Norwegian Seafood Council’s goal is to increase the value of Norwegian seafood, with an ambition to quintuple export volume by 2050.

Unique market position

GPC holds a unique position in the market for air freight of seafood at Oslo Airport, offering terminal operations for the further distribution of seafood as air freight, primarily to overseas markets in Asia and North America.

"We are now constructing the largest and most modern solution for the future export of fresh seafood to Europe and the global market. We will be the central logistics hub for exporting fresh Norwegian seafood by air and road to the rest of the world," says Torgil Stålberg, CEO of GPC.

GPC will provide a neutral offer to all airlines, forwarders, exporters, and other stakeholders in the seafood industry.

"The terminal will be state of the art, with unlimited capacity to ensure that the export of fresh Norwegian seafood is consistently managed and delivered with the

highest quality and punctuality to destinations all over the world. Our collaboration with OAC on the World Seafood Center enables us to achieve this," says Stålberg.

Environmental strategy

All stakeholders, from forwarders, exporters, and carriers to airlines, stand to benefit significantly from the establishment of the seafood terminal.

"We will collaborate closely with GPC on the design and construction of the logistics centre," says Jon Tallberg, Marketing Director at Oslo Airport City.

The building will set a new standard, with its own environmental strategy and BREEAM certification.

"Together, we aim to create a new structure for seafood distribution, with many positive impacts on sustainability. Exporters can now transport full trucks with both air and road freight to Europe directly to GPC, eliminating waiting time for unloading at the terminal and significantly reducing the movements of goods," says Tallberg.

The logistics centre is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2023. Both parties have mutually agreed not to disclose further details regarding the commercial terms.

"But we are both very pleased with the agreement," confirms Tallberg.

Crucial for the municipality

Ullensaker Municipality has facilitated forward-looking development with new permanent jobs for emerging industries. Mayor Eyvind Jørgensen Schumacher welcomes the establishment.

"New business clusters like this will create growth and new permanent jobs across the entire Gardermoen region. In the long run, it provides a more secure and resilient job market, something our municipality needs to better handle significant fluctuations, as we experienced during the pandemic. It's also good to know that this establishment will secure and create new jobs in other parts of the country where seafood production is substantial," says Mayor Schumacher.