Latest news with #HighlandsAndIslandsEnterprise
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Up to £24m to be invested in west Highland's Kishorn Port
Up to £24m of public money is to be invested in a port on the west Highland was used in the 1970s for the construction of the Ninian Central oil production platform - at the time the world's largest floating concrete and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said its investment would enhance the port's capacity for manufacturing floating offshore wind turbine dry dock, along with other facilities, are to be expanded. HIE said there was potential for the port to support up to 1,500 jobs once the expansion was investment forms part a Scottish government commitment of up to £500m over five years to develop ports and offshore wind energy supply chain. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes described the funding for Kishorn as "significant".She added: "It is crucial to ensuring Kishorn Port and the communities it supports can reap the benefits of the global renewables market."HIE chief executive Stuart Black said the site had provided skilled jobs in a rural area for Port Limited (KPL) director Alasdair Ferguson added: "The port expansion will provide the catalyst for the support and creation of jobs within Wester Ross and the wider Highlands, benefiting communities across the area. "We're grateful to Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish government for their support." The port is in an area of Wester Ross that is home to roughly 1,000 1975 and 1987, the site was a fabrication yard owned by Howard Doris Ltd and in 1977 more than 3,000 people were employed was not enough accommodation for so many workers in this part of the north-west Highlands coast so two retired cruise ships, Rangatira and the Odysseus, were brought in to accommodate yard was used in the construction of the North Sea oil and gas industry's massive Ninian Central Platform in the late structure weighed 600,000 tonnes once completed, making it the largest manufactured moveable object at the time. Seven tugs were required to tow it from Loch Kishorn to its North Sea site. The dry dock was used in the 1990s for the making of two concrete caissons - foundations used for deep water or soft ground - to support the Skye yard was mothballed until 2013 when work started on redeveloping it as a port for supporting the offshore renewable energy 2019, Kishorn was used for servicing the world's biggest semi-submersible offshore drilling rig, Ocean 60,800-tonne rig was towed to the Highlands from Singapore via Las Palmas in the Canaries. Last year, a decommissioned oil rig was destroyed in a controlled explosion in the dry Northern Producer had been used in the Dons oil fields about 100 miles (161km) north-east of it was blown up, various parts of the rig were recycled.
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Planning permission sought for final stage of Inverness Campus
Plans lodged for final phase of Inverness Campus Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been developing the site since 2007 Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has submitted plans for a hotel and academic space as part of the final phase of development at Inverness Campus. The 215 acre (87ha) purpose-built campus opened in 2015, and is home to 16 businesses as well as organisations like UHI and the NHS. Commercial properties make up the majority of HIE's proposals for the next stage of the project. Under the plans, serviced plots would be created for sale to developers, with 27 acres (11ha) forming part of the new Inverness and Cromarty Green Freeport.
