Hull's Siemens wind turbine factory set to open in September 2016

Siemens is investing £160m in Green Port Hull at the city's Alexandra Dock

A £350m project producing offshore wind turbine blades in Hull is on course to start work two months earlier than planned.

Finbar Dowling, director of the Siemens factory, said it was planning to open the "massive piece of civil and marine engineering" on 1 September 2016.

He said work at Hull's Alexandra Dock was "ahead of schedule".

It could eventually create up to 1,000 jobs with 200 working in construction of the site, he said.

The building work started in January.

The 10 acre (40,000 sq m) blade factory is part of a 133 acre (540,000 sq m) development that includes manufacturing, assembly and servicing factories.

The facility will manufacture 75m-long rotor blades

The facility will build 250ft-long (75m) rotor blades designed for 6MW turbines.

Production on the first batch of turbines for an offshore wind farm off the Norfolk coast is scheduled to start early 2017.

Siemens is investing £160m in Green Port Hull at the city's Alexandra Dock. Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns and operates the dock, is investing £150m.

Green Port Hull was first announced in January 2011 and was granted planning permission in May 2012.