Two areas of Wales have been named as freeports, the Welsh and UK governments have announced. It is hoped they will create 20,000 new jobs over the next seven years with a focus on renewable energy.
The Port of Holyhead on Anglesey and a joint bid between the the ports of Milford Haven and Port Talbot, which submitted a bid under the name the Celtic Freeport, were both successful. A third bid for a multisite freeport covering Cardiff Airport, Imperial Park in Newport and the Bro Tathan Enterprise zone in the Vale of Glamorgan was unsuccessful.
A freeport is an area that benefits from simplified customs procedures, relief on customs duties, tax benefits, and development flexibility with the aim of creating jobs. Goods entering freeports do not have to pay tariffs, import VAT or excise duty until they leave the freeport and enter the domestic UK market, with simplified customs procedures and declarations. However critics say they do not create new investment and just displace it from elsewhere.
