North Sea industry leader Sir Ian Wood said the city region deal announced by the UK Government will help Aberdeen to transition from an operational base to an “international centre” for innovation.
The chairman of ONE (Opportunity North East) spoke on the same day Prime Minister David Cameron visited the city after unveiling a package worth £250million to be invested in the region.
The amount is set to be matched by the Scottish Government who also agreed to the funding move on a 50-50 basis.
Sir Ian said:“The City Region Deal is built around a medium to long term vision for the economy of North-east Scotland. Today’s agreement is a really strong signal of confidence in the future of our region from the UK and Scottish Governments, particularly in relation to the role that innovation will play in maximising the North Sea opportunity and achieving diversification and greater balance through growth in our other key industries.
“The work done by ONE, in partnership with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils, Scottish Enterprise and the city’s two universities, has secured significant funds which we believe will be around £210m for innovation in our region, spanning our priority industry sectors and including big data and internationalisation.
“The oil and gas innovation funds will help to create an international oil and gas technology centre which will support maximising economic recovery in the UKCS and help to transition Aberdeen from an operational base to a major, international centre for offshore technology and innovation.
“This will anchor the supply chain here for the long term. An early solutions programme will develop new technology to increase production in the North Sea and work with SMEs will stimulate innovation, bring technology to market and expand our supply chain exports.
“The funds for the biopharmaceutical and agriculture, food and nutrition innovation centres will be the catalyst for ONE’s sector activities to help grow these industries and provide a diversified and better balanced economy.
“We strongly supported Aberdeen Harbour Board’s Nigg development, which we see as game changing for the region, and welcome the commitment for this strategic infrastructure project.”
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