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Steven McKenzie, reporting from the Highlands and Islands, discusses the signing of a landmark agreement to establish a green freeport in the Highlands after a five-year planning process. The Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF) is anticipated to create over 11,000 jobs in the area over the next 25 years, with a focus on becoming a key international hub for offshore renewable energy.
The agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU), will formalize cooperation between the port, the UK and Scottish governments, and Highland Council. This agreement also triggers £25m of seed funding from the UK government, which will support local infrastructure projects at the port. ICFGF, a collaboration between private and public sector organizations, has identified six main sites, including the Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon, Port of Nigg, Highland Deephaven near Evanton, and Inverness Campus.
Scotland’s Secretary Douglas Alexander and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes expressed their excitement about the signing of the agreement, highlighting the potential economic growth and job creation in the Highlands through the establishment of the green freeport. They emphasized the importance of adhering to fair work standards and ensuring that green freeports are not seen as a form of “greenwashing”. ICFGF’s chief executive, Calum MacPherson, emphasized the port’s ambition to drive positive economic change in the Highlands through the creation of high-quality jobs, particularly in the offshore wind sector.
Furthermore, the article delves into the concept of green freeports, explaining that they are designated areas within a country’s borders where certain tax and customs rules do not apply in full. In Scotland, these boundaries are determined through agreements between both the Scottish and UK governments. These freeports offer financial and operational incentives to businesses, including tax breaks. In 2022, five bids were received to establish two green freeport economic zones in Scotland, with Forth Green Freeport (FGF) and Inverness and Cromarty Firth ultimately selected as the winning bids in September 2023
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