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Excited to have been asked to help the Govt. think through the potential role of freeports. A great opportunity to ensure that tax-focused initiatives are coupled with a drive to spur innovation in British ports and the shipping and logistics industry thesun.co.uk/news/9636784/b…
Many of the potential benefits of freeports have been well documented, especially in Rishi Sunak’s report for CPS - cps.org.uk/research/the-f…
In particular, there is strong evidence to suggest that freeports can be a great vehicle for stimulating regional economic growth, and rebalancing the UK economy. The US examples of success are particularly useful macegroup.com/perspectives/1…
Of course not everyone thinks freeports can provide sufficient benefits or that risks like regional displacement and fraud are too great. But I’ve not found the counter-arguments particularly persuasive ft.com/content/f9c41a…
The argument that the benefits of freeports do not outweigh the risks of Brexit aren’t persuasive either. If you think, as I do, that the UK will leave the EU, the Single Market, and the Customs Union then it makes sense to look for initiatives which provide economic benefits.
The thing that makes me excited about the prospect of freeports, however, is slightly different. I think that freeports will provide the ideal mechanism for stimulating greater innovation and technology in the UK's maritime and logistics sector. 🚚⛴🛫🚅🚁🛳
In fact, last year @PUBLIC_Team published a report, which @BenHouchen wrote the foreword to, where we outlined how freeports and new technologies can go hand in hand, and help to position the UK as a global leader in 'Maritime Tech' - public.io/wp-content/upl…
Truth be told, UK needs more innovation (esp startup-driven innovation) in its maritime sector. We are falling behind Singapore, Dubai, Hamburg and Rotterdam - not just in the sophistication of the technologies used but also in terms of govt support. cityam.com/solving-shippi…
How do freeports matter? First, any modern freeport will need a number of technologies that so far haven't been fully exploited at UK ports and borders, incl real-time asset tracking, proper use of geolocation, virtual geofencing of boundaries, and port-call optimisation systems.
Second, a freeport is the perfect place to launch a dedicated maritime technology and innovation hub. This would be a place where startups, entrepreneurs and innovators could be located to use technology to solve some of the UK's biggest challenges in trade and shipping.
Place the innovators in the physical freeport, with a ready-made customer and site for initial trials and implementation. They do it with PortXL in Rotterdam and PIER71 in Singapore. We should do it here - and we should do it with more govt support and regulatory innovation.
Think @ycombinator for trade startups, or the shipping equivalent of the UK's space incubation hub in Harwell. We just don’t have anything that approaches the scale of the challenge or which honours the legacy of the UK’s history of trade.
Finally, it is a great way of building a world-class tech cluster outside of London in an area that could benefit from attracting investment, high-skilled jobs and new industry. It’s been done with spaceports in Sutherland and Cornwall. gov.uk/government/new…
