3. Statement by the Minister for Economy: The Free-port Programme in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:30 pm on 28 March 2023.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:30, 28 March 2023

Well, not only do we have a freight strategy that we're developing, but I'd remind the Member again that we need to get through the next stage in the process. We need to understand whether the headline claims made in the bids—and they are good bids that we've been happy to support through the next stage—to see the detail of that, to understand more about the detail before we make plans on assumptions.

So, regardless of the free-port status, I am confident we'll see more investment in developing and delivering marine energy across our long and windy coastline, which is a natural advantage in, not just power generation, but the economy of the future. And we will, of course, want to take account of what that economic development means for our broader infrastructure, and I'm sure that I, and the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, will be more than happy to take account of that in the future.