A £10 million plan has been announced to transform Dundee's port into a hub for the oil and gas, decommissioning and offshore wind sectors.
Forth Ports said it will develop the quayside at the east end of the port, offering heavy lift capability over 200 metres and featuring an ultra-heavy lift pad.
Coupled with a deep-water berth, it will allow for the handling of large cargoes.
Construction is to start immediately and is expected to take 18 months. When completed, it will be one of the strongest quaysides in Scotland, Forth Ports said.
Chief executive Charles Hammond said: "This is an important, privately funded investment for the port of Dundee which is ideally placed to service the needs of North Sea oil and gas, decommissioning and Scotland's offshore wind sector over the coming years.
"The port's existing skills base and location, combined with its riverside berths, deep water and rock river bed, put the port in a key position to become a hub for these sectors for construction, operations and maintenance and for decommissioning."
Business at the port is said to have grown in the past 12 months, and renewed interest in Dundee from the passenger cruise sector will see liner visits increase from six in 2015 to a planned 10 in 2016.
Further growth in the area is expected with the opening of the V&A Museum of Design in 2017.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: "Today's announcement puts Dundee and the surrounding area in a strong position to maximise the enormous economic benefits that offshore wind and decommissioning can deliver for Scotland.
"When I met Forth Ports in Dundee to discuss their potential plans for the future, it was clear this major development can open the region to business opportunities in new markets - not to mention the inevitable jobs boost that a project of this size will deliver."
Scottish Enterprise also welcomed the announcement.
Maggie McGinlay, director of energy and clean technologies, said: "This is great news for Scotland adding to the range of port facilities that are available to support the oil and gas, decommissioning, subsea and renewable industries.
"There still remains plenty of life left in the North Sea but it is vital we prepare to capitalise on the enormous opportunity on the horizon around decommissioning. This investment will add to the options available for future decommissioning activity supporting Scotland's supply chain in developing a strong role in this area."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel