The Scottish and UK governments have jointly selected Forth Green Freeport and Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport as Scotland’s first green freeports.
Following a rigorous assessment and selection process, the two winning bids will be supported by up to £52 million in start-up funding and will benefit from tax reliefs and other incentives through a combination of devolved and reserved powers.
Applicants to become a Green Freeport in Scotland were required to demonstrate how they would contribute towards a just transition to net zero emissions by 2045 and create new, green jobs. They were also required to set out how they would support high-quality employment opportunities with fair work conditions at their core.
– Deputy First Minister John Swinney
This is a milestone achievement in the process to deliver Green Freeports for Scotland. Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport will support businesses to create high-quality, well-paid new jobs, promote growth and regeneration, and make a significant contribution to achieving our net zero ambitions.
A rigorous joint selection process has been followed. The successful applicants showed a strong determination to embed fair work practices, including payment of the Real Living Wage, and to enshrine net zero initiatives in their work.
We look forward to working closely with them to ensure they deliver maximum positive impact and become operational as soon as possible.
We will also work with the unsuccessful bidders to consider how they can build on the plans set out in their bids to deliver jobs and growth in their regions outside the Green Freeports programme.
Scotland has a rich history of innovation, trade and manufacturing and as we look to seize the many opportunities achieving net zero offers, the creation of these internationally competitive clusters of excellence will help us to create new green jobs, deliver a just transition and support our economic transformation.
Background
The Forth Green Freeport bid aspires to deliver up to an additional 50,000 jobs across the UK, generate £6 billion in investment and contribute over £4 billion in GVA across sites in Grangemouth, Rosyth, Leith, Burntisland and Edinburgh Airport. Its activities will focus on renewables, advanced manufacturing, alternative fuels, carbon capture utilisation and storage, shipbuilding, logistics and the creative industries.
The Inverness and Cromarty Firth bid aims to build a world-beating floating offshore wind manufacturing sector, with sites in the Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, Nigg, and Inverness. It expects to create up to 25,000 new jobs and attract £2.6 billion in inward investment. In addition to offshore wind manufacturing, it will focus on green hydrogen and creating a new innovation cluster.
The bidding prospectus set out the requirements for applicants as well as the assessment and selection process. The Scottish Government will publish more information on the outcome of the assessment and selection process in due course.
