Highland port secures £100m loan from government-backed banks

A company redeveloping a former oil and gas fabrication yard has secured a £100m business loan from UK and Scottish government-backed banks.

Haventus has started construction of a port to support offshore wind farms at Ardersier near Inverness.

The 450-acre (182ha) site is part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, and is to have 650 metres (2,132ft) of new quayside.

Haventus has secured a joint credit facility from the Scottish National Investment Bank and UK Infrastructure Bank.

In total Haventus has secured £400m for the construction of new port facilities that it said will underpin the creation of a "nationally significant facility" for the industrial-scale deployment of new offshore wind turbines.

Work has already begun on the new quay wall and associated quayside, and the completed site is set to open in 2025.

In 2023 the project received £300m from energy investment firm Quantum Capital Group.

The Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) and UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) have now each invested a further £50m.

Haventus chief executive Lewis Gillies said: "We are delighted to have secured the support of the two banks as important partners in this nationally significant project.

"With their support, and that of Quantum, Ardersier Port is poised to become a critical offshore wind hub and an important job creator and enabler.

"It will play a crucial role in helping the country meet its net zero ambitions."

In the 1970s the McDermott Yard opened at the location on the Moray Firth for the fabrication and construction of offshore platforms for the then newly-established North Sea gas and oil industry.

At its height the yard employed about 4,500 people but it closed in 2001 as demand dropped.

Last year, investment firm Quantum Capital Group committed £300m of investment towards the redevelopment project.

The work is one of the largest industrial regeneration projects in the Highlands in decades.

First Minister John Swinney said the development would help deliver a "fairer, greener future for everyone".

He said: "Scotland's growing offshore wind capabilities present an era-defining opportunity - not only to achieve a just transition to net zero, but to harness the skills which lie across our energy sector and wider supply chain to create thousands of green jobs and transform our regional and national economies.

"The Ardersier Port redevelopment, which is central to the ambitions of the ground-breaking Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, exemplifies this opportunity."

Andrew Bowie, UK government minister for nuclear and renewables, described Scotland as a "pioneer" in offshore wind technology.

"The UK has a record on offshore wind it can be truly proud of, with the most installed capacity in Europe and home to the five largest operational windfarms off our shores," he said.