The Port of Cromarty Firth has committed to a £30m expansion project at Invergordon in Scotland to build a new quayside that will serve as a construction hub for offshore wind farms.
Over 140 jobs in the area will be created by the project, which will add 218 metres of new water frontage and 9 acres of lay-down area, which will also be used in the oil and gas and cruise ship industries.
Work is expected to wrap up in 2020 in time for the site to serve as turbine pre-assembly headquarters for EDPR’s 950MW Moray East wind farm, which is due online in 2021. The contract was first reported by subscriber-only reNEWS.
The new quayside will be funded jointly by the port and £7.75 grant funding from Highlands & Islands Enterprise, which includes £2.3m from the European Regional Development Fund. RBS is the commercial lender.
Port of Cromarty Firth chief executive Bob Buskie said the commitment marks a “significant investment” by the board.
“As a Trust Port, all of our profits are reinvested in the port’s future development. We believe this investment will be help bring new work to the area for decades to come. This is already starting, with last week’s announcement of the Moray East Offshore Windfarm contract.”
He added: “The team at the Port have been working for two years on this project and we could not have done it without the help of the Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Royal Bank of Scotland and, of course, our new partners Moray East.”
MSP for Inverness and Nairn Fergus Ewing said: “I am delighted they have won this crucial contract and this will provide a real boost to the port and the wider Highland economy.”
Moray East project manager Oscar Diaz: “There is no automatic reason why a wind farm needs to be built from a local port, indeed there are examples of wind farms which have been built from beyond the UK altogether.
“The efforts of Port of Cromarty Firth cannot be understated in securing this contract for Scotland and the Highlands. They won this contract against stiff competition including well established ports already undertaking this work.”