Forth Green Freeport secures full business case approval
Forth Green Freeport chief executive Sarah Murray said the release of ?25M in seed capital will be matched by project leads (source: Forth Green Freeport)
28 Nov 2025by David Foxwell The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that Forth Green Freeport (FGF) has received final approval of its full business case (FBC) following approval from Scottish government in October 2025 Approval of the FBC is an important step towards unlocking ?25M (US£33M) of seed capital funding to support the reindustrialisation of the FGF area to attract investors and deliver major economic benefits.
Following approval of the FBC on 26 November 2025, the Forth Green Freeport chair, Dame Susan Rice DBE, the three local authorities (Edinburgh, Fife and Falkirk) and both governments will sign a memorandum of understanding to allow the release of the multimillion-pound seed capital money. Projects which have been identified for development to attract inward investment, will then begin. Focusing on the key target sectors of offshore wind, hydrogen, sustainable fuels, modular manufacturing and logistics, FGF will support the re-industrialisation of central Scotland and large-scale economic regeneration over the next decade.
Commenting on the approval, Forth Green Freeport chief executive Sarah Murray said, "This is an important day for Forth Green Freeport as we successfully gain final government approval of our FBC. "The next step to fully activate the Forth Green Freeport is signing a memorandum of understanding to allow the release of the ?25M funding to kick-start the initial projects. Importantly, the seed capital will be match funded by project leads.
We look forward to signing this soon to begin delivery of this important long-term initiative benefiting Scotland and the rest of the UK." Chaired by Dame Rice and led by Ms Murray, FGF became operational on 12 June 2024 and is set to attract new businesses and new jobs aided by a suite of tax and customs incentives to deliver real benefits for Scotland and the UK. A detailed economic impact assessment has projected that it will generate ?7.9Bn of private and public investment over the next decade and boost GVA by ?8.1Bn.
This investment is projected to create up to 34,500 jobs, with around 16,000 of these being direct employment in the FGF's target sectors and tax sites.