The SNP has been forced to defend controversial plans to create freeports in Scotland after they were branded a "corporate giveaway".
Finance secretary Kate Forbes admitted today "there was a lot of scepticism out there over what they might achieve" as the Greens blasted their coalition partners at Holyrood in a rare split.
The Scottish Government has signed a cooperation agreement with Tory ministers at Westminster despite previously opposing such a move.
Freeports are tax-free zones around docks, airports or railway hubs designed to boost economic growth by exempting goods arriving in them from tax and customs charges.
The Port of Dundee is expected to be one of the bidders when applications open in the spring - while Ayr harbour has also been touted.
SNP ministers previously claimed Westminster risked undermining devolution if they set up the freeports in Scotland or Wales without the backing of devolved governments.
They later backtracked and said they would pursue an alternative model - which is claimed offers greater protections to workers.
But in the first major split between the SNP and the Greens since the parties signed a Holyrood powersharing deal last year, the environmentalists slammed the decision.
Ross Greer MSP said: "The Greens will have nothing to do with this corporate give away.
"A little greenwashing won’t change the grim reality of these ‘freeports’.
"They are yet another way of handing tax breaks and public money to rich corporations, despite no evidence that it will create real economic prosperity.”
Economy secretary Kate Forbes is a supporter of the freeports plan and claimed the SNP had won concessions from Westminster over how they would operate in Scotland.
She insisted there were four "redlines" which the UK Government had agreed on issues like pay and decarbonisation before the Nationalists agreed to back the proposals.
“We want the prospectus to be published in March so we hope that that will mean that we can make announcements over the summer about winning bids," she told BBC Radio Scotland.
When asked if she could give away any hints on which businesses could be in line to win a spot in the special economic zones offering tax breaks and lower tariffs, Forbes refused to comment.
She added: "There will be a fair process and the perspectives will be clear on what we’re looking for.
"And obviously contenders will be required to set out those decarbonisation plans as well as adherence to fair work practices.”
Forbes continued: "There is a lot of scepticism out there over what they (freeports) might achieve, which is why those four redlines are so important.
"The prospectus is critical - getting the right winning bid is fundamentally important.
"And what will they need to show, in order to win, is these robust decarobonisation plans and a comprehensive approach to fair work.
"If bidders are not able to demonstrate that, we will take it into account."
Freeports are a policy long-promoted by Tory chancellor Rishi Sunak and moves are already under way to open sites in England, including one on Teeside.
A spokesman for the STUC, Scotland's largest trade union body, said: "Freeports create tax evasion and money laundering. They can divert good work from other parts of the country.
"Greenwashing them won't much help.
"We will fight against any attempt to pay workers less than the rate for the job and for unionisation to protect workers."
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