Work begins on £400m factory
PLANT BEING BUILT AT REDCAR STEELWORKS SITE
GROUND has officially been broken on a vast £400m factory at the former Redcar steelworks touted to create 750 jobs.
Korean firm SeAH Wind Ltd marked the start of work at Teesworks yesterday in a ceremony featuring the South Korean ambassador, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. The start of work was officially marked with drilling commencing at the vast flattened 90-acre site after the signing of contracts.
The huge plant will produce bases for offshore wind turbines, becoming the first scheme driven by the private sector at a UK freeport.
Officials say the facility is expected to produce between 100 and 150 monopiles every year transported out to the North Sea from the £107m South Bank quay under construction at the moment.
A further 1,500 indirect jobs from the factory have also been touted on top of the 750 direct positions. SeAH chief executive Joosung Lee marked the occasion in a grand marquee featuring presentations and videos.
Political turmoil in Westminster wasn’t lost on the attendees – with Mr Houchen and Mr
Kwarteng indirectly referring to the resignation of the Prime Minister.
But Mr Houchen said it was an “extremely important” day for Teesworks and the region – and believed the SeAH launch marked a “huge milestone”.
The Conservative mayor added: “Now we’re no longer talking about the hundreds of millions of pounds in a black hole it’s going to cost to demolish the steelworks and start to remediate it. We’re now talking about what the future of these new industries will be.”
He later added: “I’m acutely aware that we’ve raised expectations – it’s often something I do. Sometimes we get it wrong, sometimes we get it right but there is a huge buy-in from the local community here that this site is going to deliver something special.”
Teesworks Ltd is now owned in a 90-10 split in favour of JC Musgrave Capital, Northern Land Management Ltd and DCS Industrial Limited – with 10% kept by the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC). Chris Harrison, on behalf of Northern Land Management and JC Musgrave, told the crowd they had not been daunted by the challenge at Teesworks – and a team effort had allowed the SeAH development to happen.
He added that £130m had been invested in the demolition and remediation of the wider Teesworks site.
Mr Houchen said SeAH were taking a “big risk” in being the first investor on the site but believed it was a “measured risk” because of how they’d worked with the firm in the past six months.
The plant will be 850 metres long with a footprint five times the size of a typical Amazon factory. SeAH president Joonsung Lee said they’d always been supportive of developing strong local supply chains in the UK’s offshore wind industry – saying the massive factory would “bring manufacturing back to Teesside”.
Mr Lee added: “SeAH is making a big investment here in the South Bank. But this is not just another addition to SeAH’s global network, it’s so much more than that.
“SeAH wind is going to completely rewrite SeAH’s future story – I see SeAH’s place in the energy transition and I believe the UK is the perfect place to start this journey.”
SeAH had reconsidered its original site before eventually opting for Teesside.
Glitter cannons and a horn sounded by Redcar and Cleveland councillor Mary Lanigan marked the beginning of work.
After the ground-breaking ceremony, Mr Houchen said it had been just under two years since they took control of the land and five years since the launch of the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC).
He added: “It’s a huge milestone. The speed with which SeAH moved when we put our arm around them and asked them to consider Teesside.”