Sites at Cromarty Firth and the Forth have been selected to host Scotland’s first green freeports.

The winning bids were revealed in a joint announcement by the UK and Scottish governments.

The special economic zones north of the border are being created under a scheme agreed by the two governments.

The successful applicants will be able to offer tax incentives and lower tariffs in the zones.

A total of five bids for green freeport status were submitted, with North East Scotland, Orkney and Clyde missing out.

Each had to set out how they would regenerate their area, create high-quality jobs and support transition to a net-zero economy.The Forth Green Freeport bid was led by Forth Ports, which owns and operates seven ports on the east coast of Scotland.

In submitting its bid, Forth Ports said it had the potential to create up to 50,000 new, high-quality jobs in renewable energy, manufacturing, sustainable fuels and construction.

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