Liverpool city region’s new Freeport is set to go live this summer, with a £25m funding boost from the government. The exciting potential of the new scheme was discussed at the recent Maritime Exchange conference in Liverpool, where industry leaders heard that it could ‘supercharge’ the economy.
The Liverpool Business News reports that the event was attended by leaders from government and industry. Richard Ballantyne, chief executive of the British Ports Association (BPA), also addressed the conference. He said that Freeports were proven drivers of growth for local economies.
Freeports can include airports as well as maritime ports, and benefit from being exempt from normal tax and custom rules. In the Liverpool region, the John Lennon Airport and the new Parkside logistics scheme, the Wirral Waters project, and the 3MG multi-modal terminal at Widnes are all a part of the Freeport scheme.
Mr Ballantyne said: “We operate independently from Government and we don’t need too much from them. We just need the right business and regulatory regime to help us operate effectively.”
He added: “We lobbied for the Freeports and we believe they can supercharge our economic development. We have eight Freeports at the moment and we need to roll these out further to other locations.”
John Lucy, director of the Liverpool City Region Freeport, said that there had already been a great deal of national and international interest. He told the conference that the scheme had the potential to create over 10,000 permanent jobs and generate an extra £1.3bn a year for the local economy.
Liverpool’s Freeport status was announced in March 2021. As the city handles 45% of all UK/US trade, it was an obvious choice to be awarded the status. The total investment is expected to reach £800m, over 310 hectares of land and 675,000 square metres of commercial floorspace.
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