Teesworks £400m wind turbine parts factory work begins

SeAH will build its new factory on part of the Teesworks site

Work has officially begun on a £400m offshore wind turbine part factory on the site of a former steelworks.

Korean firm SeAH wind wants to build up to 150 turbine bases a year at its new Teesworks site creating 750 new jobs.

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said the old Redcar steelworks site was "filling up" with SeAH the first "private sector project to get spades in the ground".

But General Electric has said it will "not be moving forward" with its plans to make turbine blades there.

Ground was officially broken on SeAH's 90-acre site, the main building of which will be 850m (2.800ft) long, by dignitaries including the South Korean ambassador, Mr Houchen, and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng

SeAH president Joosung Lee said the factory would "bring manufacturing back to Teesside", adding the UK was the "perfect place" to start the steelmaking company's journey into wind technology.

Redcar Council leader Mary Lanigan joined SeAH president Joosung Lee and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen at the ground breaking

Mr Houchen said it would be the world's "biggest monopile factory" and was a "huge milestone" for the Teeswork site, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Parts built there would be shipped out to the North Sea wind farms from a new £107m quay being built as part of the Teesworks Freeport scheme.

Teesworks is owned in a 90-10 split in favour of JC Musgrave Capital, Northern Land Management, and DCS Industrial Limited - with 10% kept by the South Tees Development Corporation.

Chris Harrison, on behalf of Northern Land Management and JC Musgrave, said £130m had been spent on demolition and remediation of the wider Teesworks site.