The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
‘£17m Highland harbour revamp to create 50 jobs’
Contractor being sought to design and build pier transformation
A MULTI-MILLION pound redevelopment of a Caithness harbour will create 50 jobs and help with the sustainability of the county post-Dounreay, it has been claimed.
Scrabster Harbour’s St Ola pier will be attractive to the renewable energy and cruise ship sectors after the £17 million revamp. Contractors are being sought for the project with the harbour trust hoping to whittle down candidates to the final three before Easter, before negotiations will then ensue, relating to the planned design and construction of the ambitious project.
The announcement comes at a time when decommissioning of the Dounreay complex is taking place as job numbers fluctuate during the phased approach to works. The site is due to reach an “interim end state” by the early 2030s.
Sandie Mackie, port manager at Scrabster Harbour, said: “We are very much delighted to have reached this stage. Scrabster has made some quite significant developments in the past and these have paid dividends in increasing our revenue and also for the economic impacts for the local area.
“At present, Scrabster Harbour helps support over 400 jobs and we want to grow that in the future.
“Our Ola project is projected to add another 50 to those figures.”
Dozens of jobs will be created as a result of a £17 million investment into a major redevelopment of a Caithness harbour.
It is hoped the multimillion-pound transformation work at the St Ola Pier by the Scrabster Harbour Trust will create 50 new jobs on top of the 400 the busy port already supports – and help ease the pain for a post-Dounreay Caithness.
A contractor is being sought to conduct the design and construction phases of the development with the trust hoping to have selected three bidders by Easter which they will negotiate with over the proposed development.
Sandy Mackie, port manager at Scrabster Harbour, said: “We think this is a great opportunity to refurbish and redevelop an existing pier which served as the original ferry pier and create a better piece of infrastructure.
“We believe the redevelopment will appeal to, not just the energy market, but to the cruise market also.”
Scrabster Harbour is seeking to implement a double-sided pier spanning 920ft that would allow the harbour to service more offshore oil and gas, renewable energy and cruise vessels.
Mr Mackie added: “We are very much delighted to have reached this stage. Scrabster has made some quite significant developments in the past and these have paid dividends in increasing our revenue and also for the economic impacts for the local area.
“At present, Scrabster Harbour helps support over 400 jobs and we want to grow that in the future.
“Our Ola project is projected to add another 50 to those figures. Given the Dounreay decision, we have to look towards a sustainable future for Caithness and north Sutherland.
“We feel we have played a part in that and hope to continue that through our future developments.”
In an independent economic impact assessment commissioned in 2017, it was estimated the total economic output of the harbour measured at £48m, a rise of £9m since the previous instalment took place in 2009.
Over the course of the past 25 years, Scrabster Harbour has seen significant development and investment into its infrastructure, with more than £35m being invested to bring the vital marine asset up to the modern day standards the ever-expanding trade is demanding of the area.
Local councillor Donnie Mackay said: “I am delighted. Any jobs are an advantage to me. Scrabster has developed greatly over the years and I am just delighted.
“I think they will get something from the investment sector, which is good. Anything that keeps young people in Caithness and the locality is welcome news and I open both hands to this.”
Councillor Matthew Reiss added: “Scrabster is already providing a lot of jobs and this is another example of how the port is moving forward. I am delighted to hear of these new jobs at a time when the county is dealing with the gradual decommissioning detail at Dounreay.”
“Anything that keeps young people in Caithness is welcomed”