£200m to be invested in major new Highland cable factory and 150 jobs created
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MORE than £200 million worth of investment will be spent and 150 new jobs created when a massive new high-voltage subsea cable factory is built in Nigg.
The UK government today confirmed the scale of the money and the predicted number of jobs as part of a wider announcement of £17.7bn worth of investment by Japanese companies into the UK.
The UK investment was announced to coincide with a visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Part of the package announcement was a reconfirmation that Sumitomo Electric Industries is looking to build a high voltage cable manufacturing plant somewhere in the Highlands.
And, while no-one has officially comfirmed that a site next to Global Energy Group's yard at the Port of Nigg is the earmarked location for it, planning documents for a cable factory already filed with Highland Council have Sumitomo's name among them.
The announcement today still hasn't gone as far as confirming Nigg as the proposed site for Sumitomo's Highland factory, but details that they plan to invest £200m and create 150 "highly skilled green jobs" are new information about the site.
And a visit by the UK government's Scottish secretary Alister Jack to the Cromarty Firth freeport this afternoon to coincide with the Prime Minister's wider Japanese investment announcement, is likely to further fuel speculation that confirmation about Nigg is imminent.
Related: Global Energy's Nigg base earmarked for Sumitomo Electric Industries' gigantic subsea cable factory
Prime Minister Sunak said: “These new investments are a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s dynamic economy, from some of Japan’s top firms.
“Working with the government and British industry they will create the kind of high-quality, reliable jobs and transformative local investment we are delivering around the country.
“It’s great to also see leading UK businesses seizing the huge opportunities for growth and collaboration in Japan."
The wider £17.7bn investments include funding for offshore wind, low carbon hydrogen and other clean energy projects from Marubeni. The leading Japanese trading house has announced its intention to sign a memorandum of understanding with the UK government which envisages approximately £10 billion of investment in the UK with its partners over the next 10 years – including in offshore wind in Scotland and green hydrogen projects in Wales and Scotland.
Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan, two of the largest real estate companies in Japan, are also confirming plans to invest £3.5 billion in the UK. The planned projects will build affordable housing, high quality office space and life-science laboratory in London, which is expected to support thousands of jobs and help to revitalise areas of the capital.
Sumitomo Corporation – a different subsidiary to Sumitomo Electric Industry's – is also intending to expand its UK offshore wind projects, leading to a total investment of £4 billion in projects off the coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk.
Alongside chief executives and CEOs from firms like Nissan, Sumitomo Corporation and Hitachi, the Prime Minister will meet three start-up UK companies at today’s business reception in Tokyo. Winnow, Transreport and Oxentia have just announced new partnerships and offices in Japan.
These announcements come as the UK and Japanese governments unveil a new Renewable Energy Partnership which includes building business partnerships to accelerate the deployment of clean energy.
