After years of dormancy and speculation, one of Appalachia’s most ambitious industrial builds is officially back in motion. Pure Salmon, the global aquaculture company backed by Singapore based 8F Asset Management, has resumed work on its inland salmon facility in Southwest Virginia, a $300+ million project now positioned at the intersection of food security, infrastructure development, and rural industrial revival.
The 200-acre site, previously a rugged coalfield, is being reimagined into a vertically integrated aquaculture campus capable of producing 10,000 tons of Atlantic salmon annually. When fully operational, the site is expected to support 200+ full-time roles and become a foundational asset in reshaping the region’s economic identity.
“It’s the largest private investment in Tazewell and Russell County history,” said Delegate Will Morefield. “And it demonstrates this region’s readiness to execute at a global scale.”
From Legacy Land to Modern Logistics Hub
The site transformation has been both literal and structural: over 2 million cubic yards of earth have been moved to stabilize a landscape known more for mining than manufacturing. Now entering a critical construction phase, Pure Salmon’s team is implementing surcharge compaction techniques to prepare for nine facilities, including:
- A flagship 800,000 sq. ft. main production building
- Hatcheries, grow out facilities, and processing centers
- On site utilities for water and energy reliability
Behind the scenes, regional stakeholders are aligning to support the project’s scale:
- Tazewell County is investing up to $10M in water, sewer, and pump station upgrades to meet the site’s 300K to 400K gallon daily water requirements
- Russell County is leading road development for direct access
- Appalachian Power is planning new transmission and substation infrastructure tailored to the facility’s power demands
These investments reflect a broader shift: rural regions repositioning for year round, industrial grade logistics operations.
From Legacy Land to Modern Logistics Hub
Strategic partnerships are extending beyond bricks and mortar. Pure Salmon has contributed $200,000 toward tuition for local high school graduates and is co-developing a water management and aquaculture training program at Southwest Virginia Community College, in collaboration with Virginia Tech.
“We’re not just constructing buildings,” said Karim Ghannam, CIO at 8F Asset Management. “We’re cultivating a long term workforce and proving that sustainable food production can anchor resilient regional economies.”
Why Investors are Watching
From an infrastructure perspective, Pure Salmon Virginia is compelling for several reasons:
- Resilience: Inland production eliminates reliance on coastal ports and mitigates supply chain risk.
- Resource alignment: The site has ready access to abundant land, labor, and fresh water: critical inputs in protein production.
- Policy tailwinds: Local and state governments have demonstrated proactive alignment with private sector timelines and workforce needs.
- Market timing: As consumer demand for sustainable protein and supply chain certainty rises, vertically integrated domestic production is gaining premium value.
It’s more than a farm. It’s a closed loop, recession resistant model for how food infrastructure can scale in strategic geographies, without coastal constraints.
Smartland Energy continues to track high impact industrial builds across the U.S. This project, in its scale, complexity, and public-private coordination, reflects the emerging blueprint for 21st century development in legacy energy corridors.
