Port and civic leaders behind the successful Humber freeport bid are now pushing for it to be the first to launch.
ABP regional director Simon Bird has told how the submission topped the government’s list of criteria, and now wants to capitalise on the star status to pioneer the huge levelling up lever.
Tax incentives and customs benefits are the enviable anchors to attract manufacturing, with the potential seen as transformative by those involved.
More than 7,000 new jobs have been flagged, with it playing a crucial role in accelerating existing and emerging sectors.
Mr Bird, who welcomed Chancellor Rishi Sunak to Immingham last month, said: “The government published the selection criteria and the Humber came top in all categories. Logic would say if the government wants to press ahead and have one freeport up and running, then the other seven, why shouldn’t it be the Humber?
“They want to have at least one freeport up and running by the end of this year. We in the Humber, I as chair, together with local authority leaders, are shooting for it. We will be pushing the government hard to have Humber Freeport established and once established, making the case for investment.
“It is a really exciting future, there is no sense of a lack of urgency from those in the region to make it happen. We are lobbying the government hard to make it happen, and I am sure it will do by the end of the year.”
Mr Bird sits on a board with the four Humber authorities, two local enterprise partnerships and representatives of existing private sector businesses that could also prosper.
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A chief executive and staff will be recruited to market it and attract investment, while also helping those companies drawn in to establish themselves. A legally established company should be up and running by this autumn.
Events to explain the freeport opportunity will also be held. “We are very much at the start of that journey,” Mr Bird said, with the first held last week.
Setting it in context as he addressed the Humber’s Offshore Wind Connections conference, he said: “There is huge potential to benefit the whole economy of the Humber.
“Freeports are going to be a catalyst to drive investment, create jobs and create manufacturing. In addition to the freeport we have the offshore wind cluster which has based itself here in the Humber and there is huge opportunity around offshore wind as the government is committed to developing more.
“The AMEP site is extremely well placed to attract investment because the site is going to be a tax zone and that aids these opportunities that exist in the offshore wind sector.”
He also flagged the huge decarbonisation agenda and the grand plans to bring the most CO2 intensive area to Net Zero.
"When the freeport wrap is put around offshore wind and carbon capture there is huge potential for the region," he said.
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"We have said 7,000 jobs and it is the start of a long journey, I see many, many more jobs in these two sectors in particular."
Scope to broaden the defined footprint if an investment had a particularly strong case was not ruled out either.
Mr Bird was joined by bid director David Gywnne, with a question and answer session managed by Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, on a watched by 180 people following his OWC presentation.
He added: "Humber Freeport is a new development to our area, which brings advantages to businesses. These advantages include easy access to international markets and access to raw materials without tariffs. The three new tax sites with attract new manufacturers with a host of benefits, but we won’t be forgetting about the existing businesses. We are hoping to create packages for the new businesses to incentivise them to use local existing business, to benefit our local supply chain."
The three tax sites will be positioned in East Hull, Goole and the Able site at Killingholme, which also including parts of Port of Immingham. These tax sites will attract new manufacturers with benefits including no business rates for a period, no National Insurance Employer’s Contribution, and no stamp duty or land tax.