Work starts on Ardersier Port transformation

Multi-million pound works to bring a mothballed Highland harbour back up to speed are due to kick off in the coming days.

For many years, Ardersier Port was one of the largest oil rig fabrication yards in the world, employing as many 4,500 workers.

Now new owners are revolutionising Ardersier – which, at 400 acres, is the largest brownfield port in the UK – with the hope of transforming it into Europe’s first fully circular energy transition site.

Under the ambitious plans, the facility, which shut up shop in 2001, will recycle retired oil rigs to make foundations for future fleets of floating offshore wind farms.

It is expected that thousands of jobs will be created at the site as a result off the revamp.

In order to open up the port’s half a mile long quayside, work is about to kick off on a £20 million, nine-month ‘capital dredge’ programme.

As much as 2.5 million cubic metres of sand, equivalent to 1000 Olympic swimming pools, will be removed as part of the operation.

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