The Celtic Freeport – which is expected to attract £8.4 billion of private and public investment and deliver 11,500 new jobs – has been officially launched.
The freeport covers the ports at Milford Haven and Port Talbot and spans clean energy developments, fuel terminals, a power station, heavy engineering and the steel industry across South West Wales.
Within the freeport area, businesses are offered significant UK Government and Welsh Government tax breaks and customs exemptions designed to encourage investment and growth.
The Celtic Freeport is expected to add £8.1 billion of economic value (GVA) to the local economy.
The Celtic Freeport opened for business in November 2024 and is supported by £26 million of committed UK Government investment. It has now been officially launched at an event in Cardiff, attended by the Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens, and Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning.
The vision for the freeport is to create a green investment and innovation corridor that will drive inward investment, skills development, and national decarbonisation. The freeport will support new manufacturing facilities and major port infrastructure upgrades to facilitate the roll-out of floating offshore wind (FLOW) in the Celtic Sea. It also aims to provide the backbone for a cleaner future based on the hydrogen economy, sustainable fuels, carbon capture and storage, cleaner steel, and low-carbon logistics.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said:
“The Celtic Freeport will create up to 11,500 well-paid, highly skilled jobs and could leverage up to £8.4 billion in investment.
“The UK Government has committed £26 million to the freeport in addition to significant incentives from the UK Government and Welsh Government. I am very pleased that we now have two governments working in partnership to deliver for people of Wales.”
Rebecca Evans, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, said:
“The official opening of the Celtic Freeport sends another clear signal to the world that the industrial heartlands of South Wales are a vital cog in the growth and future prosperity of the UK’s low-carbon economy. We are already seeing a real appetite across the region and beyond to make the most of the skills and job opportunities that this new industrial age will provide.
“The Welsh Government will be at Celtic’s side providing major tax reliefs to attract business investment, and the freeport will be able to use future non-domestic rates revenues for vital infrastructure and skills projects which will benefit Port Talbot and Milford Haven for generations to come.”
Luciana Ciubotariu, CEO of Celtic Freeport, said:
“The Celtic Freeport is taking significant strides forward with key milestones secured such as the planning consents for the LanzaTech sustainable aviation fuel production plants and RWE's Pembroke Green Hydrogen plant, the launch of the Milford Haven CO₂ Project, H2 Energy and Trafigura's West Wales Hydrogen project securing a hydrogen CfD, Haush establishing a green energy HQ and their green hydrogen plant coming forward at Pembroke Dock and the approval of the wind turbine development to expand Dragon Energy’s Renewables Park.
“These Celtic Freeport partner initiatives, coupled with investments in battery energy storage by RWE and port infrastructure at Port Talbot, are accelerating South Wales' reindustrialisation and driving a decarbonised economy rich in evolving and new industries.”
The Celtic Freeport is one of 12 freeports across Wales, England and Scotland.
