£300k cash injection for future freeport projects
Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF) has achieved numerous development milestones in recent years.
Picture: ROAVR Group.
A GBP300,000 cash injection aimed at helping get future Inverness and Cromarty Firth Freeport[1] projects "investment ready" has been announced by the UK government. The GBP296,000 of funding - which is part of a GBP700,000 package shared with the Firth of Forth's freeport through the UK government's Industrial Strategy Zone Site Accelerator Grant - will be used to prepare a range of site investigations, plans and information gathering at three local sites. The biggest sum announced for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth freeport[2] is GBP150,000, which will be used to gather environmental information for the Port of Inverness[3] to "ensure an environmentally-responsible development critical for regional energy infrastructure".
A further GBP110,000 is earmarked for site investigations to assess potential at the Dunskaith Industrial Land. And GBP34,000 will be spent to support a biodiversity plan at the freeport. This targeted funding will be used to progress pre-construction planning and is part of a wider UK government GBP3.3 million investment in UK freeports.
"This UK government funding is a welcome milestone towards developing green freeports in Scotland," said the Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander/
"The UK government's freeports programme is a key part of our mission to boost economic growth in all parts of the UK. Supported by GBP25 million UK government investment each, and a range of UK government tax incentives, Scotland's two green freeports will deliver thousands of high-quality jobs and attract billions in investment." The Inverness and Cromarty Firth freeport has said it aims to create 18,300 jobs in the UK, with more than 11,000 based in the Highlands.
It will focus on developing renewable and low-carbon energy industries, such as offshore wind; advance manufacturing and maritime technologies.
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References
- ^ Inverness and Cromarty Firth Freeport (www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk)
- ^ Inverness and Cromarty Firth freeport (www.inverness-courier.co.uk)
- ^ Port of Inverness (www.inverness-courier.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk)