The Forth Green Freeport (FGF) is officially “open for business” following approval from the Scottish and UK Governments of its Outline Business Case and the designation of its three tax sites located in Grangemouth, Rosyth, Mid-Forth (Leith and Burntisland). This major step unlocks the investment incentives to deliver the green freeport vision.

This significant milestone will attract new businesses and new jobs into the FGF area, aided by a suite of financial incentives to deliver major economic and net zero benefits for Scotland as a whole and the local communities in Fife, Falkirk, Leith and beyond.

Focusing on the key target sectors of offshore wind, hydrogen, sustainable fuels, modular manufacturing and logistics, FGF will support the re-industrialisation of Central Scotland and large-scale economic regeneration over the next decade. Forecasts indicate that there is the potential to attract £7bn of private and public investment over the next decade, delivering Gross Value Added (GVA) of £8.4bn. This could generate up to 38,350 well paid, highly skilled, green jobs, with almost 19,000 of these being direct gross jobs linked to the FGF’s target sectors and tax sites.

Dame Susan Rice DBE, Chair of Forth Green Freeport, said: “It is an important time for the Green Freeport as we move through the business case development phase to delivery for Scotland. This is a long-term project and one which we know will deliver real benefits to the local communities through economic growth, skills re-training and training and access to high quality, green jobs.”

The Outline Business Case (OBC) and tax sites were approved and designated on 12 June 2024, allowing the Forth Green Freeport to become operational. The consortium is currently working through the Final Business Case (FBC) which develops the detail in the OBC further and secures the seed capital funding linked to the Green Freeport. The FBC will be submitted for approval to the Scottish and UK Governments later this summer.

The three strategically located tax sites and a number of potential customs sites, span 533 hectares in Grangemouth, Leith, Rosyth, Burntisland and Edinburgh Airport. This is a refinement of the overall area following the inclusion of land owned by the Royal Navy in Rosyth (HMS Caledonia) and the joining of the Burntisland site with the Leith site to create the Mid-Forth tax site. For more information please go to the HMRC website.

Sarah Murray has been appointed as the first Chief Executive of Forth Green Freeport and takes up her role at the end of August.

Sarah was appointed following an exhaustive recruitment process led by independent recruitment specialists and involving a recruitment panel and a two-stage interview process.

Sarah is a highly professional leader who brings to the role considerable relevant experience working with multiple layered organisations (public and private sector) developing skills and infrastructure that drive economic activity. She also has considerable stakeholder engagement experience and collaborative successes which are seen as being particularly relevant. Sarah is currently the Director of Local London, a sub-regional economic growth partnership of nine London boroughs, and was previously Head of Regulation for the City of London Corporation (2016-2021).

Commenting on her appointment, Sarah Murray said: “This is an exciting opportunity for me personally and for Scotland to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits, both nationally and for local communities. Throughout my career I have gained a wealth of experience of working with multilayered partnerships and I understand the importance of good, transparent stakeholder engagement. I am looking forward to getting started in August and to begin building on the excellent start that the consortium has already made.”

We all look forward to working with Sarah when she takes up the role on 27 August.

Forth Green Freeport has three local authority partners – Edinburgh, Falkirk and Fife. For this newsletter we are focusing on Fife but watch out for future newsletters covering the activities of our partners in Edinburgh and Falkirk.

InvestFife welcomes the designation of Green Freeport status for the Tax Sites of Rosyth and Burntisland – both being strategic sites capable of supporting transformational economic ‘reindustrialisation’ of the Forth.

This will also support the Fife business Supply Chain which is undergoing a significant transformation. Aided by the strategic advantages of the Forth Green Freeport, this transformation also comes as Fife Council’s Economic Development team offers a wide range of support services for businesses to develop and grow – including assistance with site selection, access to funding and finance, workforce and trade development initiatives and strategic business support assistance. With a collaborative approach and a commitment to driving economic growth, Fife Council is ready to support businesses at every stage of their journey.

With cutting-edge infrastructure and a commitment to sustainability, the Freeport is creating an unparalleled ecosystem for businesses. Local suppliers will benefit from improved logistics, reduced operational costs, and enhanced efficiency. This thriving supply chain is not only boosting the local economy but also positioning Fife as a crucial hub in global supply networks, ensuring economic resilience and long-term growth.

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In delivering the Fife Economic Strategy (2023-30) place-based economic growth opportunities are now set out alongside capital commitments for site servicing and business property programmes within a suite of Fife Investment Prospectuses.

This will complement the Forth Green Freeport Investment promotion activity and will, for Fife help to illustrate where investment-ready employment land and modern business/economic infrastructure including digital and energy assets are available.

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A delegation from Fife Council’s Economic Development team attended the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds to showcase Fife’s prime investment opportunities, including the Forth Green Freeport Development and the newly launched Dunfermline investment prospectus.

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Central to the Forth Green Freeport is the Arrol Gibb Innovation Campus (AGIC) at Rosyth, a global centre of excellence which is set to transform large-scale manufacturing through innovation and learning.

The proposed AGIC facilities will enhance existing efforts to develop skilled capabilities at scale, across a range of job roles and key sectors and will support innovative techniques and manufacturing applications such as large-scale robotics. AGIC complements adjacent landowner developments at Rosyth, including Forth Ports, the Ministry of Defence (HMS Caledonia) and Scarborough Muir Group.

Forming part of Forth Green Freeport innovation and skills infrastructure, AGIC fosters an innovative environment which will continue to keep pace and develop industry skills required both now and in the future, supporting Forth Green Freeport being central to Scotland and UKs global innovation led economic growth ambitions.

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Continued promotion of the opportunity is ongoing supported by Scottish Development International and AGIC partners.

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Babcock’s LGE business located at Rosyth has been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.

The prestigious award recognises the business for the development and successful commercialisation of its pioneering ecoSMRT® technology.

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