South-West Wales launches a freeport bid consortium

A freeport bid consortium consisting of Associated British Ports, Neath Port Talbot Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and the Port of Milford Haven has been launched to explore the case for a green freeport in South-West Wales.

Both Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire have exciting, shared opportunities for nationally significant energy infrastructure to support the development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, hydrogen and sustainable fuels. Combining this potential with the region’s skill base, existing facilities and proximity to key markets offers a compelling argument for a potential freeport bid.

A South-West Wales freeport would bring together the ports of Port Talbot and Milford Haven to unlock the widest possible opportunity for Wales and for the UK by accelerating investment and fast-tracking modern skills development for new green industries. It would strengthen export opportunities while supporting Welsh and UK Governments’ ambitions to drive economic growth.

The Welsh and UK Governments have jointly designed a freeport model to deliver three objectives, which must be met by applicants:

• Promote regeneration and high-quality job creation;
• Establish the freeport as a national hub for global trade and investment across the economy;
• Foster an innovative environment.

The consortium will work with established and emerging industry representatives, unions, academics and other key stakeholders to map out the full opportunity and create a compelling case for a South-West Wales joint freeport bid grounded in green economic growth. This accelerated investment pathway and modern skills programmes will enable local communities to share in the substantial benefits of green freeport growth.

Bids must be submitted by 24 November 2022. The successful bid will be announced in early spring 2023, with the freeport being established by summer 2023.

For further reading visit the Freeport Programme in Wales: bidding prospectus

Ends

Contact:

Antony Topazio, Pembrokeshire County Council antony.topazio@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Notes to Editors:

ABP (www.abports.co.uk)

ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator with 21 ports and other transport related businesses creating a unique national network capable of handling a vast array of cargo.

The company contributes £7.5 billion to the UK economy every year and supports 119,000 jobs. Our current investment programme promises to further increase our contribution to regional economies around the UK.

About the port of Port Talbot

• Port Talbot is one of the only harbours in the UK capable of handling cape-size vessels of up to 170,000dwt.
• The port handles around 6.6 million tonnes of cargo every year and over £760 million of trade
• As well as supporting steel production in South Wales, the port handles project and heavy lift cargoes, steels and other metals, building aggregates and cargoes to support the offshore energy sector.

ABP’s new vision for Port Talbot, Future ports: Port Talbot has been published, click here to view and feedback.

Pembrokeshire County Council (www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk | www.sir-benfro.gov.uk )

Pembrokeshire is a unique and beautiful county.

Besides the 125,000 people who live and work in Pembrokeshire, the county also welcomes millions of staying visitors per year.

Pembrokeshire County Council is the biggest employer in the county, with around 6,100 employees providing the essential services to meet the needs of its residents and visitors.

These services include education and schools, social services, waste and recycling, housing and leisure and more.

We believe that the organisation's most valuable resource is its people and every member of staff has a key role to play in helping us achieve our vision: Working together, improving lives.

Port of Milford Haven (www.mhpa.co.uk)

The Port of Milford Haven is the UK’s top energy port and Wales’ busiest port handling around 20% of Britain’s seaborne trade in oil and gas. It is widely recognised in the industry as the energy capital of the UK.

The Port of Milford Haven also owns and operates Pembroke Port and Milford Dock. Activities such as cargo handling, ferry operations, fish landing and cruise calls as well as a first class marina are spread across these two sites.

The Port of Milford Haven is a trust port – an independent, commercially run organisation that has statutory responsibilities governed by its Acts, to maintain and improve navigation and the provision of Port and Harbour services and facilities.

Neath Port Talbot Council

Neath Port Talbot County Borough lies in the heart of the South Wales economy well served by the M4 and A465 with direct access to London, the South East of England, the Midlands and other parts of the UK and Europe.

With a strong track record of working with partners to create the right environment for businesses to grow, Neath Port Talbot is leading a number of key projects within the Swansea Bay City Region to grow an economy based on innovation and green technologies. Neath Port Talbot is also diversifying its economy, home to two of Wales’s most ambitious recent projects, the £200m Global Centre for Rail Excellence rail testing and innovation hub at the head of the Dulais and Tawe Valleys and the £250m Afan Valley based Wildfox adventure resort. Neath Port Talbot also has strong relationships with academia, with Swansea University’s Bay campus sited in Neath Port Talbot in addition to the University of South Wales Hydrogen Research Centre. The continued operation of the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone also builds on the strong links across the public, private and academic sector to ensure the smooth delivery of ambitious innovative projects.

Neath Port Talbot, home to more than 140,000 people, has a strong mix of manufacturing and service sector industries and a share of well-known companies with specific expertise in steel, electronics, automotive components, general and precision engineering. Tata Steel’s plant is a key asset served by the deep water harbour in Port Talbot and has the potential to help realise the Government’s ambitions in the fast growing on and off-shore floating wind energy market.

Multi million pound infrastructure and regeneration projects are also creating a significant increase in employment while the tourism industry (Neath Port Talbot is home to attractions such as Waterfall Country, Margam Country Park, Aberavon Beach and mountain bike hot spots in its forest clad valleys) now provides jobs to more than 1,000 people, attracting more than 1.3m visitors and making a huge contribution to the local economy.

The success of the area is attributed to its excellent infrastructure, good communications and the quality of its labour force.