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Council welcomes new shipbuilding company as sign of confidence in the city
Portsmouth City Council today (Tuesday July 1) welcomed news that VT Group and BAE Systems have formed a Joint Venture (JV) merging their shipbuilding and naval support businesses. The new JV will be known as BVT Surface Fleet Ltd (BVT) and heralds a full manufacturing contract for the aircraft carrier programme the Ministry of Defence is expected to announce shortly.
Last year the city council staged a high profile campaign to save Portsmouth's naval base, galvanising key partners across the area including MPs, the local media, Portsmouth University, the business community and government departments.
Cllr Mike Hancock, Cabinet member for Planning, Regeneration and Economic Development and MP for Portsmouth South said: "This is great news for the city and the future prosperity of Portsmouth.
"Last year we mounted a massive campaign to secure the future of the naval base, which is so fundamentally important to our economic success and identity as the home of the Royal Navy. This campaign helped save the base and the new company signals a bright future for shipbuilding in the city. We look forward to seeing more related contracts, companies and jobs attracted to Portsmouth as a result.
"Portsmouth is on a high at the moment and this is yet another clear indication of the renewed confidence in the city."
As part of a review of the three naval bases in 2006/2007 the Ministry of Defence carried out a review of the size, roles and capabilities of Portsmouth, Devonport and Faslane (Clyde). The major options considered were either to retain all three bases - making cost savings where possible - or to 'minimise' one naval base and transfer the bulk of its activities to the others. For Portsmouth, this would have meant the closure of the base.
The city council and SEEDA jointly commissioned an assessment by Portsmouth University's Centre for Local and Regional Economic Analysis into the social and economic impact of Portsmouth Naval Base on the city and region. This concluded the base supported a total of around 35,000 jobs in South Hampshire, with employment and spending by defence companies generating £680m for the local economy.
Date : 01 July 2008
2008
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