FOOD producer Berry Sensation will create 80 jobs during construction and another 138 ongoing positions at its new horticultural operation in the Wattle Range Council area.
Berry Sensation has been awarded a $2m State Government grant towards its new $34.7m hydroponic strawberry growing facility.
Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi said his council had been in discussions with the company about such a venture.
He said a site had been mooted, but would not state its location or provide a timeline for its development.
The mayor said he was aware of community and political speculation about a similar proposal by the Sundrop company, but the Berry Sensation facility was a separate project.
Berry Sensation’s state-of-the-art facility will be the first in the world able to grow strawberries 365 days a year.
The scale of the Berry Sensation project is so large it will increase South Australia’s strawberry production by 30pc with the company planning to supply markets in Australia, Japan and South Korea.
The South Eastern Times understands a start on the project will be made in 2018.
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis made the Berry Sensation funding announcement on the weekend and said it came from the $200m Future Jobs Fund.
He also did not specify where the Berry Sensation strawberry farm would be located.
Mr Koutsantonis also announced grants from the fund for firms in Adelaide and Two Wells.
“We had an overwhelming response to the Future Jobs Fund, with hundreds of businesses applying for funding to create thousands of jobs,” he said.
“It is great the State Government is able to help these three businesses create a total of about 450 jobs in Adelaide, Two Wells and the South East.”
Support for the local project has also been expressed in the public commentary of Premier Jay Weatherill.
He has described the Berry Sensation project as supplying “entry level” jobs and said job creation was the number one priority of his government.
