The UK is poised to make a decision “soon” on whether to green-light plans from Mingyang to build a £1.5bn turbine factory at Ardersier in Scotland.
Trade Minister Sir Chris Bryant told the BBC today (30 January) the UK government had taken its time to deliver a verdict on the proposals made by the Guangzhou-based OEM last October as “we don’t want to flip flop on our relationship with China”.
He added that ministers had to be sure investment was “safe and secure” after MPs raised national security concerns when the manufacturer was linked with supply deals for UK and other European wind farms last year.
“Any aspect of our critical national infrastructure, we want to make sure that the investment is safe, secure, and is going to do the business for us as well as for China,” Bryant told BBC Radio Scotland.
“And so, I expect we’ll be able to make a decision soon.”
He added: “The best I can do, I’m afraid, on our timeline, is that we hope to make a decision soon.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is currently on an international visit to China where he met President Xi Jinping yesterday (29 January).
Mingyang said this week it was considering alternative “Plan B” locations in Europe should permission be denied by the UK government to build in Scotland.
