Scotland’s green freeports will bring in billions of pounds in new investment

Green freeports will maintain high environmental standards and apply fair work principles, while helping Scotland play a leading role in the green energy revolution, writes Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes

Recently the First Minister visited the Inverness and Cromarty Green Freeport to be briefed on the construction of a major new undersea cable manufacturing plant. And I attended the announcement of a £50 million investment by Forth Ports in its Leith Renewables Hub, part of the Forth Green Freeport. Both sites are helping ensure that Scotland grasps the opportunities presented by the transition to a green future.

The cable plant, for example, is the first investment of its kind in Western Europe by Japanese engineering giant Sumitomo and I am pleased that it will create 150 direct jobs in the Highlands, many of them within my constituency, and at least 350 more in the supply chain.

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The Forth Ports renewables hub is a £100m development intended to attract a range of companies and activities linked to offshore wind. And the recent announcement is not only a boost to our economy but also a statement of confidence in Scotland’s role in shaping the world’s renewable future.

Forth Ports has announced a £50 million investment in its Leith Renewables Hub, which is part of the Forth Green Freeport (Picture: Jane Barlow)Forth Ports has announced a £50 million investment in its Leith Renewables Hub, which is part of the Forth Green Freeport (Picture: Jane Barlow)
Forth Ports has announced a £50 million investment in its Leith Renewables Hub, which is part of the Forth Green Freeport (Picture: Jane Barlow) | PA

A game-changer

The New Year will herald the next stage of the green freeports’ development, with the final terms of their agreement with the Scottish and UK governments being set, triggering up to £25m of government seed funding for each.

But the fact that they have already attracted at least £800m of public and private finance shows their potential to drive Scotland’s economy. The green freeports themselves estimate that they could generate £14.4 billion of public and private investment over the next 25 years, a game-changing sum for businesses and workers across the country as benefits spread through supply chains, with money invested back into our local economies.

Although the freeport concept is a UK-wide initiative, the Scottish Government has been clear from the outset the Scottish sites will maintain our high environmental standards and apply fair work principles, such as paying the real living wage and no inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts.

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The UK Government has now agreed with our insistence that Scotland’s two green freeports produce fair work charters which all businesses at the tax sites must sign up to. For example, the Inverness and Cromarty Green Freeport has set five criteria – effective voice, security, opportunity, fulfilment and respect – and companies will have to prove they are achieving at least three and produce a plan within six months setting out how the others will be met.

Green energy revolution

Local authorities are also key partners and communities around the sites will benefit from long-under-utilised land being put back to use. Landowners will contribute funds to help local people gain the skills needed to secure the new jobs being created on their doorsteps.

I am focused on ensuring that Scotland is at the forefront of the green energy revolution. We have set out our five priority areas to provide certainty for investors and businesses, while introducing measures to ensure that fair and sustainable jobs are spread across the country.

The pace is set to increase in 2025 and it is my view that Scotland’s green freeports have an increasingly important role to play.

Kate Forbes is Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Gaelic

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