400 jobs at risk as Alexander Dennis seeks to ‘consolidate' bus manufacturing
The Scottish-headquartered company said it is looking at 'consolidating its UK bus body manufacturing operations' in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
This would mean its manufacturing facility in Falkirk – which Alexander Dennis said had 'already been reduced in recent years' – would close.
In addition the firm said the production lines in Larbert, where it also has its global HQ, would be suspended when current contracts are completed.
Alexander Dennis said the changes would lower costs and increase efficiencies.
But it added up to 400 jobs – about 22% of its workforce – would now be at potential risk of redundancy.
Scottish Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: 'This will be a hugely worrying time for the workforce at Alexander Dennis, their families and the wider community.'
She said the Scottish Government has in recent weeks 'engaged extensively' with the company and its parent firm NFI to 'understand the issues and ensure that every possible avenue is explored to mitigate the need for redundancies'.
Ms Forbes and Scottish First Minister John Swinney have been involved in these talks, along with representatives from Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and the UK Government.
Vehicles for the 'Bee Network' of buses in Greater Manchester were built by Alexander Dennis (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Ms Forbes pledged: 'The Scottish Government will continue to explore any and all options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert.'
She added that in the event of job losses, the Scottish Government would provide support through its Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (Pace) initiative.
Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis president and managing director, said the firm is proposing a UK manufacturing strategy 'to underpin financial sustainability and lower operating costs in the face of changing and challenging market dynamics'.
With Alexander Dennis dating back to 1895, Mr Davies stressed bosses 'firmly believe in our people, products and business'.
But he added: 'We must take significant action to drive efficiency to allow our operating model to be competitive.
Both the Scottish First Minister John Swinney and his Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes have been involved in talks over the future of Alexander Dennis. (Jane Barlow/PA)
'It is extremely regrettable that as part of this, we must place jobs at potential risk of redundancy and propose to cease manufacturing operations at some of our facilities.'
Mr Davies said this is necessary because 'the stark reality is that current UK policy does not allow for the incentivisation or reward of local content, job retention and creation, nor does it encourage any domestic economic benefit'.
He added: 'We have warned of the competitive imbalance for some time and would like to see policy and legislative changes that incentivise the delivery of local benefit where taxpayer money is invested.
'We strongly believe funding that supports public transport should lead to investment in local jobs, domestic supply chains, technology creation and a recurrent tax base.
'It is our hope that the forthcoming industrial strategy will provide reassurance that there is value in manufacturing within the borders of the UK and we remain hopeful of policy and legislative changes that increase the UK's focus on support for domestic manufacturing.
'Our new strategy would allow us to respond appropriately to increase local production if structural changes are made.'
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Dark day for SNP if Falkirk added to Proclaimers song's litany of loss
Irvine was where Sturgeon grew up. She witnessed its degeneration, and she came to believe that only the SNP and independence could restore the country's position as a manufacturing powerhouse. This post-industrial decline turned much of central Scotland into the equivalent of the US rust belt: an urban fallout zone, blighted by generations-deep unemployment and heroin, which seeped into the cracks created by economic upheaval. Sturgeon's own experience, which chimed with others', coincided with a gradual shift within the party, towards the left and from rural to metropolitan. It also instilled a conviction that workers must never again be abandoned to their fate. As awareness of the impact of climate change grew, it was clear Scotland was going to have to distance itself from the black, black oil: the totem in which so much political faith had been invested. But this time round, the SNP assured us, there would be 'a just transition', with jobs lost in fossil fuels matched by jobs created in renewables, and support for retraining. How hollow that pledge must feel in Falkirk today, as the town and its surrounds face up to a double whammy of closures: first the Grangemouth refinery, which stopped processing crude oil in April, and now, if no-one steps in, bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis. The company, which is threatening to move its Larbert and Falkirk factories to Scarborough, employs 400 people across the two sites, while 450 are being made redundant at Grangemouth. But many more livelihoods are linked to their supply chains, or dependent on their workers having money to spend. The impact of big closures ripples out through communities, and filters down the generations. (Image: Alexander Dennis president and managing director Paul Davies Image: ADL) SNP EVASION HOW galling, too, to watch the Scottish Government try to exculpate itself from blame. In its efforts to evade responsibility, it has exposed how little it has done to support the beleaguered labour forces. When Westminster pushed through emergency legislation to prevent Scunthorpe steelworks from closing, John Swinney called for the same quasi-nationalisation for Grangemouth. But his remarks were countered by owner Petroineos, which said: 'If governments had wanted to seriously consider different ownership models, the time to start that work was five years ago when we first alerted them to the challenges at the refinery.' This was nothing compared to the humiliation meted out by Manchester mayor Andy Burnham when he revealed his city had bought four times more Alexander Dennis buses than the Scottish Government. Burnham's flaunting of his Wee Bee electric fleet, which Alexander Dennis helped to create, was particularly embarrassing, given the poor state of our own public transport network, and the fact Burnham's drive towards creating the UK's first fully electric, zero-emission, integrated public transport system by 2030 feels like a model for what a 'just transition' should look like. NOT A REALITY SCOTLAND, and particularly Glasgow, has been fantasising about the creation of a similar network for years, but it has not yet managed to translate it into reality. Further reddening Scottish Government faces was the revelation that 208 orders from the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund – set up to accelerate the transition to zero-emission buses – had gone elsewhere, including China. This must have hit Alexander Dennis hard given one of the challenges it says it faces is 'strong competition from Chinese electric bus manufacturers whose share of the market [has] risen from 10% to 35%'. Grangemouth and Alexander Dennis have much in common. They both have foreign owners: PetroChina had a 50% stake in the oil refinery, while Alexander Dennis was bought over by Canadian company NFI Group Inc in 2019. This means decisions about their future were/are being made outside Scotland, with the UK and Scottish governments left scrabbling about trying in some way to respond. 'I think if we are going to allow these sectors to be run in this way, it ought to be with much more dialogue and agreement,' Dr Ewan Gibbs, senior lecturer in economic and social history at Glasgow University, told me. 'If we think these sectors and these workforces are so important we should be devising longer-term forms of planning.' Climate change made the demise of Grangemouth oil refinery all but inevitable. In this case, it is the failure to prepare that shocks. PROJECT WILLOW THE much-vaunted Project Willow – a £1.5 million feasibility study funded by the UK and Scottish governments – is less a plan than a menu of potential low-carbon opportunities such as hydrogen production and plastics recycling. Its belated delivery rendered one of its options – the production of sustainable aviation fuel – nigh-on impossible because the processes necessary for it to be carried out had already stopped and it would be very expensive to restart them. To create the mooted 800 jobs forecast would require £3.5 billion of investment. The £200m the UK Government has offered to support it will only be released if and when a suitable investor comes forward. None of this is of any use to those who are losing their Grangemouth oil refinery represented the past, Alexander Dennis – with its electric buses – is a symbol of the future, a vital spark in our supposed green revolution, ripe for nationalisation. It could be that, having burned its fingers (and squandered £200m) on the disastrous nationalisation of Ferguson's shipyard, and the ferries scandal that followed, the government is wary about acquiring another struggling company. But you have to ask: if it's not prepared to step in and rescue a proven enterprise like this bus manufacturer, will it ever be prepared to intervene again? It must do something, though, because there's so much at stake and the losses feed into a larger picture. According to the census, there are 100,000 fewer people working in manufacturing in Scotland now than there were at the start of the 21st century. Deindustrialisation isn't something that happened in the late 1980s/early 1990s and then stopped, but part of a depressing pan-Scotland continuum. As for Falkirk itself, we know what happens to places which experience job losses on a mass scale. Their shops close, they lose their sense of identity, crime rises, drug use rises, life expectancy drops. It's a decline that has its own momentum, difficult to stop once it has started. READ MORE: Dani Garavelli: A good death is an extension of a good life Dani Garavelli: Even for great writers, the pursuit of truth is perilous Dani Garavelli: Voters are done with politicians who talk big and act small 'SCUNNERED-NESS' SOMETHING else we know: that decline breeds a certain kind of scunnered-ness. Voters in places which have lost their main sources of income look at how little the established parties have done to help them and want to crush them. It is those communities, where poverty is rife and employment a distant memory, that are most vulnerable to populism, to parties promising to better the lives of ordinary working-class people. Once – and with much better intentions – that was the SNP. Now it is Reform. We are already seeing it capitalise on misery across the country. It is in the SNP's interests, then, to make sure solutions to Grangemouth and Alexander Dennis are found: for the communities involved, for the planet, and for its own political survival. It would be a grim irony, if, almost 40 years after The Proclaimers' album came out – and on the SNP's watch – Falkirk had to be added to the litany of loss.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
FM funding row as £90m for Scots jobs given to firm going to England
It came against a background of the Scottish Government being criticised for the levels of support for bus manufacturing. According to Scottish Government records, ADL received £58m of public 'subsidy' for green vehicles since 2020 under two schemes aimed at transitioning Scotland to green buses - despite the company having embarked on a 2020 plan to axe a third of its Scottish workforce. And some £30m of jobs grants for research and development over 10 years has come from the Scottish Government's economic development agency Scottish Enterprise. Some £11.2m of those jobs grants from Scottish Enterprise came in 2023, three years after concerns were raised over ADL embarking on major job cuts in 2020. By the time the 2020 jobs cut was in place ADL had already received over £8m in 'job securing' taxpayer funding which was promoted as supporting building a new greener business in Scotland. It has led to calls for action to be taken to claw grant money back. READ MORE by Martin Williams: A Scottish Enterprise source said: "The company is aware of Scottish Enterprise's right to potentially reclaim funding where the terms and conditions of a grant contract are not upheld." The relationship between Alexander Dennis and the SNP can be traced back to 2013 when then First Minister Alex Salmond and then deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon used its Falkirk base to launch the economic case for Scottish independence. In 2016, millions in taxpayer's cash was given to Alexander Dennis which at the time was closely linked with major SNP donor and Scottish tycoon Sir Brian Souter, despite having recorded an £18.5m profit the previous year. Video: The First Minister and Deputy First Minister set out the economic case for Scottish independence in 2013 at the Alexander Dennis's Falkirk plant The First Minister said last week that the SNP minority government would do "everything it can" to support the workers saying he was "deeply concerned" that the firm planned to move its full operation to a site in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, putting 400 jobs at factories in Falkirk and Larbert at risk. ADL, which said the move would lower costs and "increase efficiency" said that current UK policy "does not allow for the incentivisation or reward of local content, job retention and creation, nor does it encourage any domestic economic benefit". It has emerged that the First Minister had been pushing for support for the company for nearly a year after a row blew up over levels of support. An official note of a meeting between Mr Swinney and representatives of Alexander Dennis as recently as August of last year revealed that there were plans for earlier restructuring with the prospect of redundancies. The note said that Mr Swinney had "reflected on the importance of ADL to Scotland, assuring NFI [ADL's parent company] of the Scottish Government's support for ADL". According to the record, seen by The Herald, at the meeting Paul Soubry, president and chief executive of NFI told Mr Swinney that they were "at a crossroads for investment decision-making given a lack of assured demand and sought clarity on the Scottish Government's prioritisation of support for domestic bus manufacturing". The First Minister "noted the potential for further capital support should be explored". Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill said the job losses were "unacceptable" and added: "If public money was paid out and they go then the funds must be returned. It was for supporting the jobs and community. "It's absurd to be losing this skilled work and leading technology in the place which should be the epicentre and hub. Its industrial vandalism and indicative of a lack of an industrial strategy." A row between ministers and ADL emerged over levels of support and had it roots in Scottish Government schemes launched from 2020 to accelerate the use and manufacture of zero and low emission buses in Scotland and 'help drive a green recovery out of the Covid pandemic" which have been worth a total of £155.8m to date. Frustrations emerged after May, 2023 when Alexander Dennis hosted the second phase of the Scottish Government's Zero Emissions Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) which was to have funding worth £58m. It also showcased its Enviro100EV concept, a lightweight single-deck zero-emission bus with new in-house battery powertrain confirmed that grant backing accelerated its development. The fund was established to "disrupt the bus and coach market" and allow operators the chance to make the move to zero-emission vehicles. Then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited ADL's Falkirk plant in a trip which coincided with Scottish Enterprise providing a £7.3m million research and development grant (Image: ADL) And a Scottish Government memo to the deputy first minister Kate Forbes a year later states that Alexander Dennis had initially accepted that the Scottish Government's direct investment in ScotZEB would "underpin and grown the 500+ green Scottish jobs it supports". But it revealed that a subsequent series of letters were received from ADL and NFI raising concerns about the outcome of ScotZEB and wider Scottish Government support of bus manufacturing. "The company claims that the ScotZEB outcome will have a catastrophic impact on the business." It said the letters compare the Scottish Government's approach to funding programmes, subsidy control and Fair Work First "unfavourably with policies of other governments to protect their domestic manufacturing base". But the memo said that ADL had received orders for 363 zero-emission buses from ScotZEB more than any other manufacturer benefitting from the schemes. A separate briefing states that Alexander Dennis was awarded only 17% or 44 buses from second phase of the programme. According to Scottish Government records ADL received £58m of public 'subsidy' for green vehicles under the four phases of the low and zero emission bus schemes A significant grant through the ScotZeb 2 programme was awarded to Zenobe, and its consortium of bus and coach operators to support the transition of bus fleets to electric. ADL, which incurred total losses over three years of £44.9m between 2021 and 2023, made its own bid to the programme but was unsuccessful. While ADL was a supplier to the successful consortium it was not a formal part of it. The note said that ADL had "praised support from Scottish Enterprise" it added that the First Minister had "assured the company of the support available for its continuing investment in Scotland". By September, 2024 a further call between the First Minister and NFI and ADL showed that Mr Swinney advised and asked that Scottish Enterprise "exhaust all options to support the business". And a note of the meeting cleared by Mr Swinney stated that he requested that "all options are exhausted before any final decision is taken by ADL". By then, Alexander Dennis had already benefited from a raft of taxpayer-funded grants and support from the Scottish Government. In the same year of the ScotZeb2 launch, Scottish Enterprise sanctioned a £13.2m grant on top of £49.7m ADL investment into the development of zero emissions technology for the creation of new battery-electric and hydrogen fuel powertrains - the systems designed to propel vehicles forward. Some £11.2m was drawn down. Alexander Dennis president and managing director Paul Davies (2nd from left) and then transport minister Kevin Stewart (centre) with Alexander Dennis apprentices as the bus company launched ScotZEB2 (Image: ADL) At that point Alexander Dennis said it was repurposing its Larbert plant to make it a "manufacturing centre of excellence' for the production of zero-emission buses. The plant had successfully piloted hydrogen-electric and said it was expanding to battery-electric full production from August 2023. Three years earlier Scottish Enterprise sanctioned a further £10m grant on top of £29m Alexander Dennis investment into the development of zero and ultra-low emission buses in Scotland. In September, 2016, £7.3m of public money was given by Scottish Enterprise to accelerate Alexander Dennis's expansion of its low-carbon vehicle programme. It was at the time the largest research and development grant in the quango's history and came despite the manufacturer recording an £18.5m profit the previous year. One of the company's chief shareholders at the time was Stagecoach tycoon Sir Brian Souter - a major financial supporter of the Scottish National Party. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon launched their 2013 economic case for Scottish independence at Alexander Dennis coach builders in Falkirk. (Image: NQ) That was before NFI took over the Scottish firm for £320m in May, 2019 and announced it wanted to hit a sales trajectory of £1 billion for the coach and bus maker, including expansion in Scotland. Both ADL chief executive Colin Robertson and Michael Stewart, chief financial officer, stayed on to continue the work done in Falkirk and Larbert. Scottish Enterprise said the £7.3m taxpayer boost would "help increase their innovation, research and development and global reach". It helped Alexander Dennis set up a £30m development and product market programme to allow the launch of the eco-friendly Enviro400XLB, its highest capacity bus for the UK market, in conjunction with Lothian Buses. Scottish Enterprise lauded the launch of the green bus manufactured in Falkirk saying it was "securing jobs and adding value to the Scottish economy directly and via the extensive local supply chain". "This accelerated our growth much faster," said Mr Robertson at the time. Then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described Alexander Dennis as a "true Scottish success story". She added: "ADL's continued commitment to invest in Scotland is testament to the skilled workforce here in Falkirk." Mr Robertson handed over the first bus to Lothian managing director Richard Hall on November 8, 2018 in a ceremony at the manufacturer's Falkirk plant that was attended by transport secretary Michael Matheson, and representatives of Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland. One worker told the Herald that the cuts were a "bolt from the blue", described the jobs threat as "horrendous" but said he would now be seeking employment elsewhere because the future looked "bleak". "I haven't slept since being informed my job was at risk and while I think everything should be done to keep it open, I just wonder whether it will be the case because the fear will be that even with further support, the move to England will just rear its head in the future," he said. "I won't be hanging around to find out because I'm not sure more support would be coming under the circumstances or will even be sufficient. I will take my redundancy cash and get out if I can." ADL was established in 2004 when a consortium of Scottish entrepreneurs led by Mr Souter and including Dame Ann Gloag (Souter's sister), Sir Angus Grossart and Sir David Murray acquired the business from Trans Bus International's administrators. A Scottish Enterprise spokesman said: 'Scottish Enterprise has had a strong strategic partnership with Alexander Dennis Limited for more than 10 years, during which time we have supported technology development, skills and cultural transformation at the company. We have recently been working closely with Alexander Dennis Limited to explore a range of possible options. We remain fully committed to continuing to work with the company during the consultation period to try and find a positive solution, despite the challenging circumstances. 'This is a deeply concerning time for the workforce and along with our public sector partners we will continue discussions on how best to support them at this difficult time.' Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said: 'The absolute focus right now is on supporting Alexander Dennis Ltd its workforce, as well as the families and communities they support. We also recognise the significance of the company within the local economy and across the wider supply chain. 'The Scottish Government has committed to exploring all viable options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert. 'We will continue to work in close collaboration with the company, trade unions, Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and the UK Government.' Alexander Dennis was approached for comment.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Kate Forbes asked to intervene in Ardrossan Harbour talks
Wyllie Hume, chair of the Arran for Ardrossan Harbour group, has written to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes citing a 'lack of progress' in the Scottish Government's planned takeover of the port. He added Transport Scotland and Scotland's ferries agency CMAL – which is acting on behalf of Scottish ministers in the talks – had painted a 'gloomy picture' of how negotiations were going with owners Peel Ports when he met with bosses a few weeks ago. Forbes has been asked by Hume to get directly involved and 'inject a sense of urgency' into the negotiations. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has also been called on to intervene in the talks by VisitArran chief executive Sheila Gilmore. READ MORE: MV Caledonian Isles ferry delayed due to last minute issue But Gilmore told the Sunday National she had received a response from Hyslop saying it would not be appropriate for her to get involved. An email to Forbes from Hume, seen by the Sunday National, says: 'We had a meeting recently with CMAL and Transport Scotland about the negotiations, and they painted a very gloomy picture of how things were going, blaming Peel Ports for being difficult and asking far too much. 'We would like the Deputy First Minister to get involved directly in the negotiations and inject a sense of urgency into the situation." Gilmore added: "My thoughts are that we have a bit of a 'he said' 'she said' going on between CMAL and Peel Ports, and it might be helpful to get some transparency around all this, which may only be achieved by ministerial intervention." The Arran for Ardrossan Harbour group alongside fellow campaigners from Save Ardrossan Harbour will be travelling to Holyrood this week to call for ministerial intervention. Concern is growing over the harbour's long-term future as the new MV Glen Sannox ferry and its sister ship the MV Glen Rosa – which is due to begin service next year – are too big to berth at the port. This has resulted in the Glen Sannox having to travel to Arran from Troon since January, which has added about 20 minutes onto each leg of the journey. The Glen Sannox is only about to carry out three daily return sailings to Arran from Troon compared to the five that are possible from Ardrossan. While the MV Alfred has been providing extra support when needed, its capacity is much smaller. There have been no ferries running from Ardrossan for five months. (Image: George Munro) The Caledonian Isles ferry (above) had been due to return to service last week from Ardrossan after around 18 months out of action, but last-minute problems picked up during sea trials delayed the launch until at least Tuesday, with a firm update to be provided on Monday. The Scottish Government promised seven years ago that Ardrossan would remain the main gateway to Arran and pledged to fund the multi-million-pound upgrade required to accommodate the new ferries. But the project was paused in 2023 amid concern over rising costs and disagreements over how the bill should be split between the three partners: Peel Ports, North Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Government. Communities on both sides of the Firth of Clyde are keen to see Ardrossan remain the gateway to Arran given many people in the town travel to the island for work, while Arran residents have medical appointments in Ardrossan. Ardrossan Harbour also has a train station offering easy access to Glasgow, while the railway station in Troon is around a 20-minute walk away from the port. People can board a shuttle to Troon station, but with only three daily return sailings, the logistics of spending a day in Glasgow from Troon are much trickier. In February, Transport Secretary Hyslop revealed that money had been set aside to take Ardrossan Harbour into public ownership. But since then, campaigners have lost faith in the progress of negotiations since a meeting with CMAL, Transport Scotland, Peel Ports and CalMac. READ MORE: Scottish Borders wind farm plan 'to push out recovering golden eagles' Hume said the meeting left him 'flabbergasted'. 'All of us came out of that meeting thinking this could fail,' he said. 'There was no commitment in that meeting. Duncan Mackison [CEO of CalMac] listened to us quite sympathetically and he came across as someone who is committed to Ardrossan Harbour. 'But the others, they just laid on doom and gloom about how bad the negotiations were going. It was quite bizarre. 'I'm still a bit flabbergasted by it.' He went on: 'They've got to get the deal done. It started in February, and although we accept there's a lot of detail to go through, we're into June now. 'The main thing is we don't think they can leave this to Peel Ports and CMAL. They're not connecting with each other.' Frances Gilmour, chair of Save Ardrossan Harbour, said the town had been 'badly let down' by all parties. The Glen Sannox has been sailing from Troon to Brodick (Image: PA) She told the Sunday National: 'People will go to Arran from Troon on the nice ferry and that's wonderful if you're a tourist, but the whole picture is not being seen. 'The strength of feeling from the people who go to the island for work and to see family, it is clear this is the route that needs to be sustained. 'The powers that be have let us down badly. They are putting a sticking plaster on it by giving us the Caledonian Isles back for as long as she lasts, which might not be long. 'I don't have much confidence [in the talks]. It just seems to be a stalemate.' READ MORE: Robert Burns-linked estate to be turned into whisky distillery Asked what her message would be to those involved in the negotiations, she said: 'Get moving, and stop blaming each other.' Peel Ports has said there has not been enough 'pace and energy' from CMAL and Transport Scotland, while CMAL has said it has to 'deliver the best value for the public purse'. A spokesperson for CMAL said: "We do not own Ardrossan Harbour, so we cannot make plans for its future. We are in the middle of a commercial negotiation process to buy the harbour from Peel Ports, which limits the amount of detail that can be shared. We are fully committed to maintaining a robust and resilient ferry service for the Isle of Arran, and no option is off the table. However, we must also ensure we deliver the best value for the public purse." A Peel Ports spokesperson said: 'The ongoing cancellations, delays, and uncertainty are devastating for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan. We've entered negotiations in good faith, working with pace and energy to a timetable we believed was achievable. Unfortunately, that pace and energy hasn't been matched by those at the negotiating table. We appreciate that the buyers have other ferry issues to contend with but reaching a swift conclusion will require them to give this negotiation a higher priority.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'It is wholly appropriate that CMAL leads on the Ardrossan negotiations. Should ownership transfer be successful, CMAL would be the asset owner and responsible for taking forward any development works at Ardrossan. 'As owners of 26 ports and harbours across Scotland, they also bring essential experience to these complex discussions. 'We will of course update Parliament and the local community once there is progress and an outcome to report, however, CMAL and Peel Ports need time and space to undertake and conclude negotiations.'
