Two new Green Freeports will be established in Inverness and Cromarty Firth and Firth of Forth, the UK and Scottish governments have jointly announced today (Friday 13 January).
Backed by up to £52 million in UK Government funding, the new sites are expected to bring forward an estimated £10.8 billion of private and public investment and create over 75,000 new, high-skilled jobs.
Bidding opened earlier this year and consortiums submitted their bids for their share of the cash, which were jointly considered by the UK and Scottish governments. As part of the process, the successful locations had to demonstrate to officials and ministers from both governments how they would regenerate local communities, deliver decarbonisation, establish hubs for global trade and foster an innovative environment to support levelling up.
Following a joint assessment process, UK and Scottish Government have selected Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport as the winning bids. Each will now be granted up to £26 million in funding over the next few years, primarily to address infrastructure gaps which are currently holding back investment.
The Forth Green Freeport aims to drive a transition to net zero by 2045 through attracting up to £6bn worth of investment and creating 50,000 jobs, generating £4.2bn in additional Gross Value Added in the first 5 years. The Green Freeport will have a focus on renewables manufacturing, alternative fuels, carbon capture utilisation and storage and shipbuilding, as well as the development of a new creative hub. The site includes the ports at Grangemouth, Rosyth and Leith, Edinburgh Airport, and a site at Burntisland.
The Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport aims to create 25,000 jobs and generate £4.8bn in investment for the area, with a focus on floating offshore wind, nuclear and hydrogen that will drive a transition to net zero by 2045. An expansion of the Inverness Campus and Powerhouse is also planned, along with proposals to deliver innovation and skills support. The site includes the Ports of Inverness, Cromarty Firth and Nigg and Inverness Airport.
This builds on the UK Government’s Freeport programme in England, where are all 8 Freeports are open for business, and sites in Plymouth and South Devon, Solent, Teesside, Liverpool and East Anglia recently being granted final government approval.