Naqua Shrimp Project – Al Lith
Described by NAQUA as the world's largest integrated shrimp production project on a single site; AZEIDK supplied, installed and maintains fire protection, alarm and security systems at the Al Lith site.
About the project
The Naqua Shrimp Project is located in Al Lith on the Red Sea coast, about 180 km south of Jeddah. It belongs to the National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA), Saudi Arabia’s largest aquaculture company. NAQUA describes it as the world’s largest integrated shrimp production project on a single site, and its management has called it the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.
The group’s projects date back to 1982. Today the project covers 4,485 hectares of water surface along about 65 km of coastline, with 80 nurseries and 77 high-density ponds across 18 farms, plus 547 open earthen ponds. Its pumping stations move about 150 cubic metres of seawater per second, annual capacity is 60,000 tonnes of shrimp, and its processing plant, one of the largest of its kind in the world, handles 800 tonnes of shrimp a day. NAQUA exports to more than 30 countries, and in 2015 it became the first company in the Middle East to earn Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.
Why fire protection is critical at a site this size
A project built around water ponds may seem far from fire risk, but the real risk sits in the buildings and plant that run production, and any stoppage there interrupts an entire food chain:
- Processing plants and cold stores are usually built from insulated panels and hold refrigeration plant and packaging, so a fire can spread quickly if it is not detected early.
- Electrical and control rooms run the pumps, refrigeration and processing around the clock. Water is unsuitable there, so they are typically protected by gas suppression systems that put out a fire without damaging the equipment.
- High-rack warehouses need sprinkler networks designed for storage height and commodity.
- Tanks, pumping stations and outdoor areas need an external network of pipes, valves and hydrants fed by dedicated fire pumps.
- Distance and scale: on a large coastal site, on-site systems must detect and contain a fire before Civil Defense crews arrive, and salt-laden air speeds up corrosion, which makes regular maintenance part of readiness.
The system falls under the Saudi Building Code (SBC 801) and Civil Defense requirements, and is tested regularly so it stays ready in a facility that never stops working.
AZEIDK’s role
At NAQUA’s Al Lith site, AZEIDK has worked at three levels: supplying fire protection, alarm and security systems; supplying, installing, testing and commissioning systems; and maintaining them regularly to keep them ready on a site that runs around the clock. Photos taken by the AZEIDK team on site show part of the fire protection system there:
- Fire pumps and the pipework and valves connected to the tanks
- External fire hydrants across the site
- Gas suppression systems in electrical rooms
- Fire alarm control panels and manual call points
- Fire extinguishers and emergency exit signs in buildings and corridors
- Protection for warehouses and processing halls
AZEIDK at NAQUA – protecting one of the Kingdom’s most strategic projects (video in Arabic)Related reading: Fire protection guide for factories and industrial facilities · Warehouse and high-rack storage fire protection (ESFR) · Special fire suppression systems
Project photos
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