PROPOSALS to transform the former Lexmark building in Rosyth into a fish factory are on schedule to be completed before Christmas.

Operators Marine Harvest hope to provide up to 150 jobs in West Fife as a result of the development, which they say will be operational in time for the festive market.

Norwegian fish giants Morpol, then the world’s largest smoked salmon producer, bought the Admiralty Park plant in 2011 for £3.7million after Lexmark pulled the plug on its Rosyth operations in 2006, leaving almost 700 staff redundant.

However, progress on the plant stalled and Jerry Malek, Morpol’s founder, sold his shares to Marine Harvest – the world’s largest producers of Atlantic salmon – in 2012. But the firm, who employ more than 10,000 staff in 22 countries around the world, have expressed its commitment to the Rosyth site, which will produce smoked and fresh salmon for UK markets.

Marine Harvest said that they expect the plant to be fully operational by 2015 despite fears that the closure of another UK plant, Brookside, could put the plans in jeapordy.

The company said that there was “no relationship” between the two plants, adding that “the Rosyth plant has been designed to have a far larger capacity than Brookside, so it can absorb that production.” Doug Aitchison, managing director of Marine Harvest’s Value-Added Processing UK division, said, “We’re on track to be operational in the autumn, ready for the Christmas market which is always a busy time for salmon.

"This is going to be a world-class facility incorporating all the latest equipment to allow us to deliver Scottish salmon products of outstanding quality to a growing market all over the world.

"It’s a major investment for Marine Harvest which will be a real boost for the local economy and could create up to 150 jobs as production increases over the next 18 months.

"We plan to hold a local stakeholder event in the next few months. We will also have an official opening of the plant at some stage in the future, which will include the opportunity for people to have a look at the facility.” Rosyth councillor Mike Shirkie said, “This has been a long, drawn-out project but it would seem that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"We desperately need the jobs in Rosyth and West Fife and the Opportunities Fife group will be working with the company in respect of jobs and recruitment. It’s good news all round.” US print giant Lexmark caused devastation with the closure of its factory, having only begun operations 10 years previously. Its management blamed the escalating costs for the mass job losses despite more than £11m in public subsidies from the then Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise.

The building was sold to Morpol by Soltice Property, a special-purpose vehicle set up in November 2010 to facilitate the redevelopment of the building by Allied Commercial Exporters and Capital & Provincial Property Company, before its take-over by Marine Harvest.