Transport Minister Tavish Scott
today announced further funding of £2.3 million in the drive to take
more lorries off Scotland's roads.
The grant awarded to Inverness
Harbour Trust will see freight transferred by sea that would otherwise
have been transported by road to destinations across the UK
It is estimated the project will remove 800,000 lorry miles from Scotland's roads each year.
Scott said: "I am delighted that
Inverness Harbour Trust have seized the opportunity to use government
funding to switch so much heavy freight from road to sea. This is an
investment in Inverness, in the Highlands, and one that benefits the
environment.”
"We have all seen the amount of
congestion caused by lorries on roads, not only in and around
Inverness, but across the whole of the North East. This funding will
mean we see less lorries on our roads, meaning less congestion and less
damage to the environment.”
"I would like to see more and
more Scottish businesses think about their freight priorities. If they
do, we will see great benefits for our environment and remove even more
traffic from Scotland's congested roads.”
Bill Smith, chairman of
Inverness Harbour Trust, said: "This is very welcome news as we have
been working on this for some time with the Scottish Executive. We can
now move ahead with the freight element of our planned port
development.”
"Small ports have a vital role
in taking freight off the road and we hope to start a container feeder
service from the city to East coast ports of Scotland and England."
Inverness Harbour Trust is an
independent port authority located at the mouth of the River Ness,
which caters for oil tanker traffic, timber, paper pulp, coal,
processed timber, grains and other dry cargo.
Since 1999, total funding of almost £67m has been given to various companies to switch freight from road to rail and water.
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