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Chinese investment in Ardersier must be safe and secure, says minister

News imageHaventus Construction at Ardersier Port. The site is flat and sandy and there are a number of large structures including circular tanks.Haventus
A former oil and gas fabrication yard at Ardersier, near Inverness, is being brought back into use for the offshore energy sector

The UK government says it expects to decide "soon" whether to approve a Chinese firm's plans to build the UK's largest wind turbine manufacturing plant at Ardersier.

Trade Minister Sir Chris Bryant said the government had to be sure the investment in the Highland port was "safe and secure".

Mingyang announced its plans last year for the £1.5bn facility and creation of 1,500 jobs.

Bryant told BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast programme the UK had to be "clear eyed" about its relationship with China and challenge it on issues such as human rights.

Bryant said there were also issues around espionage, adding: "We need to make sure that all our critical national infrastructure is safe and secure."

Asked whether a decision on Ardersier was taking so long because of security concerns, the minister said: "It's taken so long because we want to make sure that we don't flip flop in our relationship with China.

"So any aspect of our critical national infrastructure, we want to make sure that the investment is safe, secure, and is going to do the business for us as well as for China.

"And so I expect we'll be able to make a decision soon."

He added: "The best I can do, I'm afraid, on our timeline, is that we hope to make a decision soon."

News imageA map of Scotland showing the locations of Ardersier, Inverness and Aberdeen.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has previously warned that the renewables industry in Scotland will be "set back" if the proposals are rejected.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is currently visiting China and met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday as he made the case for a "more sophisticated" relationship between the two countries.

Under deals agreed on the visit, tariffs on Scotch whisky are set to be halved to 5%.

Ardersier is a former oil and gas fabrication yard near Inverness.

In the 1970s the McDermott Yard opened at the location on the Moray Firth for the fabrication and construction of offshore platforms for the then newly-established North Sea gas and oil industry.

At its height the yard employed about 4,500 people but it closed in 2001 as demand dropped.

The 450-acre (182ha) site is being redeveloped and forms part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport