Transformational investment supporting the evolution of the region’s key sectors, sustainable business growth and creating green jobs for the future.
The Deal is the agreement between the UK Government and the Scottish Government with Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Opportunity North East (ONE) on a City Region Deal.
The Deal has grown in value to £936million from £826million primarily as a result of additional investment from the private sector alongside an additional £11.7million contribution from Scottish Enterprise that was announced in 2017.
The City Region Deal is now in its fifth year
For the past years we have witnessed a seismic global shift throughout the pandemic. It has touched every aspect of our life and work, all whilst increasing the need for a Deal to help stimulate sustainable economic growth and recovery.
The most tangible benefit of the Deal to our new way of working is in the digital progress we are making, with Aberdeen well on its way to being a Gigabit City. These investments have already stimulated market demand to connect fibre to the premises, meaning more homes can access these speeds at more competitive prices.
OGTC has rebranded as the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC), a significant statement clarifying their intent to develop and deploy technology for an affordable Net Zero future.
Work has started on site for the creation of the BioHub, which is an investment to provide incubator space, laboratories and accommodation, and business growth support for up to 400 scientific entrepreneurs, spinouts and start-ups, and scaling businesses.
The year ahead looks optimistic, with planning permission for SeedPod, a digital business case addressing the gaps in infrastructure in the region, the opening of National Subsea Centre and the phased opening of Aberdeen South Harbour in 2022.
Seedpod
SeedPod is a £21million investment in the food and drink industry to create a centre of excellence for manufacturing and production in North East Scotland that will deliver regional and national growth ambitions.
CityFibre Network
"Going up from 33 to 900 Mbps will make such a huge difference to my working day!" ~ Local resident
Digital Connectivity
The Aberdeen City Region Deal is supporting an increased delivery of ultrafast fibre connectivity.
BioHub
The new-build project is a flagship addition to Aberdeen’s Foresterhill Health Campus, one of Europe’s largest integrated clinical, research and teaching sites for life sciences and medicine.
Aberdeen’s Harbour Extension “Aberdeen South Harbour” will be a unique facility due to its distinctive blend of scale, location and connectivity. Along with the North Harbour, it will represent an exceptional opportunity for commercial growth and diversification which is more important than ever given the impact of COVID-19 and the acceleration of energy transition. The expansion project is important not only to the local economy but also regionally and nationally to allow for economic recovery and prosperity.
BioHub is a capital funding project from the UK Government and Scottish Government through the Aberdeen City Region Deal.
ONE has committed an additional £3.6 million of funding over seven years to operate the hub and deliver bespoke growth support activity to the sector. The project has been developed by the ONE Life Sciences sector board which includes life sciences business leaders, the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, and NHS Grampian.
SeedPod, a project led by Opportunity North East, is a beacon for the sector’s entrepreneurial spirit and ambition. The £21million industry growth hub to be built at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) campus at Craibstone, on the outskirts of Aberdeen, will support the sector to evolve and embrace new opportunities. It's combination of facilities, infrastructure, support programmes and connections will make the region a leader in low carbon food production and environmental sustainability, process and product innovation, premium market development and create high-skill green jobs.
In 2021 the OGTC rebranded as the Net Zero Technology Centre. New name, same purpose!
The new name more accurately reflects its purpose and reinforces its technology vision; A vision that aims to reduce emissions from existing facilities, unlocks the full potential of an integrated energy system, propels the energy industry towards a digital, automated future and accelerates clean energy start-ups to build a thriving supply chain.
The Aberdeen City Region Deal is supporting an increased delivery of ultrafast fibre connectivity. Projects include the city network extension to connect all remaining Aberdeen City Council’s corporate sites to fibre, as well as to extend the duct network for traffic management purposes. There is also the full fibre project, connecting up 189 City, Aberdeenshire and NHS sites to gigabit capacity connectivity. These projects help to attract commercial investment to the City Region for improved digital connectivity.
The Strategic Transport Appraisal is taking a 20 year strategic view of the transport implications of the investment unlocked by the Deal across all modes of transport including road and rail. The appraisal is supporting decision-making regarding the development and prioritisation of future transport investment in the region, informing regional investment plans for transport infrastructure, local and regional spatial planning decisions, and national strategies and programmes of work. Two streams of work have been progressed to date: The ongoing development and appraisal of options leading to the development of the Regional Transport Strategy; and the update of the region’s transport and land use model.
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