Two new green freeports are set to be established in Scotland in a new joint partnership between the UK and Scottish governments.

The new sites, located in Inverness and Cromarty Firth and Firth of Forth, are backed by £52 million in UK government funding and are expected to bring forward almost £11 billion of private and public investment and create over 75,000 new jobs.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “Working together delivers results – and I am absolutely delighted that the first minister and I can announce the delivery of our shared ambition for people in Scotland today with not one but two excellent green freeport areas.”

Sunak said that the move would result in thousands of “high-quality green jobs” as the UK aims to meet its net zero targets.

Bidding for the sites was jointly considered by the UK and Scottish governments. The successful locations had to demonstrate how they would regenerate local communities, deliver decarbonisation, and establish hubs for global trade.

The new initiative follows news that the government is launching a tech fund to ‘make freight greener’.

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