Work to start on £42 million expansion of Scottish port
Construction work will start next week on a £42.2 million expansion project at Kishorn Port in Wester Ross.
Once complete, the expanded facilities, on the north-west coast of the Scottish Highlands, are forecast to attract projects with the potential to support up to 1,500 jobs.
Investment of up to £24m in the project by regional development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise was announced by Kate Forbes, Scotland's Deputy First Minister, last week.
Alasdair Ferguson, Kishorn Port Limited director, said: 'With a quarry on-site, Kishorn Port is ideally suited for manufacturing of concrete floating offshore wind sub-structures. This Phase 1a expansion project will enable us to provide full integration, with laydown, marshalling and assembly in the long term.
'The development opens Kishorn to new market opportunities and we are receiving strong expressions of interest to utilise the enlarged dry dock area, along with the additional laydown space, for floating offshore and decommissioning projects. As well as Scotland, our key target markets are the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea.'
Mr Ferguson continued: 'Importantly, this project will provide the catalyst for the support and creation of jobs within Wester Ross and the wider Highlands, benefiting communities across the area.
'This is another very significant milestone in the continuing development of Kishorn Port and we are grateful to Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Government for their support.'
Construction work on this phase will create 84 jobs for up to 18 months.
The principal contractor for the project is RJ McLeod, based in Scotland, with offices in Dingwall and a long-established track record in the Highlands. Supporting services are also being delivered by Scottish firms including marine consulting civil engineers, Wallace Stone, environmental consultants, Affric, and project management consultants, Leapmoor.
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