Global conference brings 'business giants' to Tees Valley

A global conference of business giants has seen Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen meet important investors in our region.

Huge votes of confidence in the UK from foreign firms were highlighted at Hampton Court this week as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pointed to £29.5bn of promised investment.

Mayor Houchen attended the Global Investment Conference – catching up with the Alfanar Group, which is investing up to £1bn into a ground-breaking sustainable aviation fuel project on Teesside.

He also met Octopus Energy, offshore wind manufacturers, and Amazon bosses during the summit attended by HRH King Charles II, and pressed the case for more firms to choose our region.

A raft of investments from overseas are to bring thousands of jobs to the Tees Valley – including, but not limited to, £450m for SeAH Wind, £1billion for Alfanar, and £1.5bn for the bp-led Net Zero Teesside project at Teesworks.

Trade advantages from the Teesside Freeport covering Teesside Airport, Teesworks, Wilton International and other sites along the Tees are also generating interest with global businesses.

Mayor Houchen said: “The UK is a fantastic place to invest and Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are the best our country has to offer. Be it Teesworks, our airport, and the huge range of world-leading firms in our Teesside Freeport zones, we are a true global leader in chemical engineering, hydrogen and the green industries coming to fruition here and now.

“We are front and centre of investment making a real difference on the ground, and we are ripe for more companies to set up shop. Most importantly, this all serves to create good, long-term, well-paid jobs for local people in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. This means more money in peoples’ pockets – which in turn means real benefits to our wider economy and health.”

It comes as the Autumn Statement last week saw Freeport benefits extended from five years to 10.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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