Business leaders are revealing their final masterplan today for transforming a 30-mile stretch of north-east coastline into a global technology corridor.
It is hoped the Energetica project will help to sustain employment opportunities in the north-east long after North Sea oil has dried up.
The scheme would lead to a mixed-use development corridor – meant as a hub of global energy-related activity – all the way from Aberdeen to Peterhead.
The idea was first mooted several years ago but took an important step forward in February, when Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum – now Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef) – said it had asked consultants to come up with a masterplan.
Acsef chairman Tom Smith explained the project and its aims in outline form at a meeting in Aberdeen in June. He said Energetica could generate £500million a year for the north-east economy and create thousands of jobs.
But the plans sparked fears that Fraserburgh could become a ghost town, with one local councillor waning it could spell the death knell for the Broch.
The finalised Energetica masterplan paves the way for the project to enter its next key stages.
Acsef is now looking to develop funding and delivery for a scheme expected to attract £750million in investment to the region in its first 10 years.
Acsef will also be using the blueprint – which can be viewed at www.acsef.co.uk – to inform and influence the development of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire local development plans.
The plan proposes the use of land for much-needed business development, as well as for educational, retail, residential and leisure use.
Mr Smith said: “This is a highly ambitious project for this region, creating, as it will, an imaginative, large-scale technology zone.
“It will be absolutely central to our work to achieve long-term prosperity for the region and secure its position as a global energy hub well into the future.
Acsef, which embraces both private and public sectors, is now looking to form a small group to develop a funding model and take the initiative to the next stage.
The masterplan describes Energetica as a long-term, strategic, region-building economic-development project taking up to 20 years.
It also highlights the need for a “highly consultative approach” in taking the idea forward, adding: “Local people and institutions are extremely resistant to what they might see as imposed solutions.”
In addition, the blueprint insists that all new buildings along the Energetica corridor should have a zero carbon footprint.
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