Consultants have been commissioned to prepare a development plan for the former Nigg fabrication yard and surrounding area.
Halcrow and Mackay Consultants was asked by Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to help outline proposals for its future, seen as a crucial step towards trying to use a compulsory purchase order to end a stand-off between a multinational and absentee Highland landlord.
Two-thirds of the yard is owned by KBR, until recently a subsidiary of Halliburton. But 76 acres are owned by the Wakelyn Trust, a family trust of the late Michael Nightingale, owner of the Cromarty Estate.
Drew Hendry, Highland Council's planning, environment and development committee chairman, said the site's success would "bring enormous benefits to the economy of Scotland as a whole".
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