Freight News, Sea

Scottish twin-track freeports approach alarms BPA

[ September 20, 2021   //   Chris ]

The British Ports Association says it is alarmed by the continuing failure of the UK and Scottish governments to agree a unified approach to the establishment of freeports, or ‘greenports’ as they are branded by the Scottish Government after the Scottish and UK Governments said they intended to proceed with parallel processes.

The UK Government said it would move to establish two Freeports in Scotland, after months of delay but the Scottish Government has published a statement highlighting its concern that it will not adopt their additions to the Freeports package. The BPA’s understanding is that both governments may now press ahead with their own independent processes.

BPA chief executive Richard Ballantyne said: “The British Ports Association is alarmed at today’s developments, which represents a serious failure from both governments that is becoming increasingly frustrating for Scottish ports. The idea that there could now be two different models or application processes being pursued by each government is absurd and is undermining business confidence.

“It is long past time that the Scottish and UK Ministers sat down and found a solution to what is a trivial disagreement that is holding back investment and job creation in Scottish ports.

 The BPA represents all major ports in Scotland and operates the Scottish Ports Group.

Tags: British Ports Association; BPA, Scottish Ports Group