Work will get under way today on an “exciting new chapter” for Lochaber as plans are drawn up to support hundreds of new jobs at a proposed car parts plant.
The first meeting of the Lochaber Delivery Group will convene in Fort William today to lay the groundwork for a £450million investment at the UK’s last remaining aluminium smelter.
Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing will welcome the bosses of the facility’s new owners, Liberty House and SIMEC, part of the GFG Alliance, to the region.
The north MSP will chair the first meeting of the delivery group, which has been set-up to discuss providing housing, training, infrastructure and services to support the influx of workers and investment.
Afterwards, he will formally switch on newly-installed bio-fuel generating units located within SIMEC’s hydro-power station, adjacent to the smelter.
The firm says that the units will make the Fort William plant “the greenest metal-producing facility in the UK”, with two different sources of renewable energy.
They have cost about £10million and will reduce the need to import electricity to the site.
Almost a year of uncertainty over the future of the town’s Alcan smelter was ended in November when it was announced that Liberty House and SIMEC would buy assets previously owned by mining giant Rio Tinto.
The £330million deal secured the jobs of 170 workers, and was almost immediately followed up by an announcement by the new owners that they would create 300 further jobs by investing £120million in equipment and establishing a car parts factory.
Earlier this month, Liberty House agreed a £100million deal with Tata Steel UK to acquire its speciality steels business, which is focused on products for the aerospace, automotive and oil and gas industries.
And the firm is pressing ahead with its plans for a car parts factory for the site in Fort William, lodging a proposal of application notice with Highland Council.
Local MSP Kate Forbes hosted drop-in sessions on the plans at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William two weeks ago, with more than 50 people attending.
Formal consultations on the factory scheme will be held as part of the planning process.
