Glasgow City Region among five bids to become one of Scotland’s two green freeports

The Glasgow City Region is one of five bids to become one of two green freeports to be created in Scotland, under a scheme agreed by the Scottish and UK Governments.

Freeports offer special tax incentives and lower tariffs for areas around airports, seaports and rail terminals. The five bids are: Clyde Green Freeport, Aberdeen City and Peterhead Green Freeport, Opportunity Inverness and Cromarty Firth, Firth of Forth Green Freeport and Orkney Green Freeport.

Glasgow region has put in a bid with Glasgow Airport, Mossend Freight terminal and Peel Ports which owns the King George V Dock and other land along the River Clyde.

If successful, it is thought the status will attract major new investment to Glasgow City Region, develop global trading opportunities and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

The bid has already attracted support from many key businesses and organisations based or operating within Glasgow City Region including Caterpillar, Malcolm Group, SP Energy Networks, the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, Morrison Construction and Loganair.

“Our bid is multimodal, covering air, sea and rail, and will further unlock global trade, doubling capacity to take products from across Scotland to the rest of the UK, Europe and beyond,” said Kevin Rush, Clyde Green Freeport Bid Senior Responsible Officer and Director of Regional Economic Growth for Glasgow City Region. 

“It will provide an £18 billion uplift in GVA to 2034. Vitally it will tackle the Region’s greatest economic challenges – increasing productivity and generating more inclusive growth. This will be achieved through fast-tracking our world-class innovation economy and creating tens of thousands of jobs in communities across the Region with high levels of deprivation. Almost 40% of Scotland’s most deprived communities are within the Clyde Green Freeport area. 

“With the biggest City Deal in the UK and the legacy of COP26, Glasgow City Region has a proven track record of delivery. As Scotland’s economic powerhouse, with unrivalled connectivity across the UK and beyond, we have everything in place to deliver a globally successful green freeport for our region, our residents, businesses, Scotland and the UK.” 

Key to the Clyde Green Freeport bid is a bold decarbonisation plan which would accelerate the Scottish and UK Governments’ net zero ambitions. The Clyde Green Freeport would achieve net zero by 2040, and would include a new district heating system; waste to energy projects; renewable energy generation and projects to roll out green fuel for air, rail, road and sea transport within industries which have been dominated by carbon – including a new £1 billion hydrogen plant which could fuel 25% of Scotland’s HGVs.