As part of a new series focused on the ambitions and opportunities of the Celtic Freeport bid in South Wales, Business News Wales spoke with Catherine Lewis, Deputy CEO/Deputy Principal at NPTC Group of Colleges (formerly Neath Port Talbot College and Coleg Powys), about the impact the freeport will have on skills provision in South Wales but also the impact towards developing a pan Wales skills revolution.
About the Celtic Freeport Bid
Celtic Freeport is an exciting project that will unlock the widest possible opportunities for Wales by accelerating innovation and encouraging significant investment, while fast-tracking modern skills for new green industries and national decarbonisation.
With development sites throughout Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire, the Celtic Freeport will:
Support 16,000 new green jobs
Generate £5.5bn of new investment
Accelerate the roll-out of floating offshore wind and the hydrogen economy.
Background
In September 2022, the Welsh and UK Government invited proposals for a freeport in Wales.
The closing date for bids was 24 November 2022, with the winning bid expected to be announced in early February.
The Celtic Freeport bid was lodged on behalf of a public-private consortium whose partners include Associated British Ports (ABP), Neath Port Talbot Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and the Port of Milford Haven.