The county council in Anglesey, an island in Wales off the mainland\u2019s northwest coast, and Sweden\u2019s Stena Line plan to submit this week a bid to create a freeport at Holyhead Port in North Wales. Stena Line has also invested in a 213-acre site, one of a number of sites that will be selected across Anglesey for economic development related to the freeport.<\/p>\n
Stena Line Ports operates Holyhead Port, the second-largest roll-on\/roll-off port in the UK and an international gateway, via the Irish Sea, to Ireland.<\/p>\n
According to initial modelling estimates, said the Holyhead Port Authority in a press release, the Anglesey freeport would attract \u00a31bn of investment and up to 13,000 new jobs across the region. The bid, which has the backing of 17 major businesses from a range of sectors and industries, including Rolls-Royce, Bechtel and Last Energy, would see the establishment of a secure customs zone at Holyhead and other sites on Anglesey with special tax and tariff arrangements designed to attract domestic and international investment.<\/p>\n
Carwyn Jones, Deputy Leader of the Anglesey Council, said: \u201c\u201cWe are particularly pleased to have an education, skills and training component so prominent in the bid thinking. It is fantastic to have ongoing conversations with Bangor University, a world leader in impact-driven research, to identify and tailor educational opportunities to the potential job creation that the freeport could support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alastair Evans, Corporate Affairs Director at Rolls-Royce, said that, \u201cwhile Anglesey at present remains attractive to long-term investment, the addition of the proposed freeport could enhance its offer to our business.\u201d<\/p>\n