The Liverpool City Region Freeport, which could create and support 14,000 jobs, has cleared one of the final hurdles in its development.
The Government has approved its outline business case, paving the way for a full submission this month.
If it is approved, the new Freeport will receive £25m and be open for business in early summer.
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The Liverpool City Region will be home to one of just eight Freeports in England. They are expected to be hubs of business and enterprise which have the potential to create thousands of jobs, help regenerate communities and establish Britain’s post-Brexit place in the world.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: "The establishment of the Liverpool City Region helps cement our status as a leader in global trade and industry, and will help us attract critical inward investment and create well-paid, highly skilled jobs.
"It is predicted that our Freeport has the potential to add an additional £850m to the local economy and will help us to build on some of our existing world class strengths.
"But, for us, it means much more than that. Throughout this journey, I’ve asked for guarantees to ensure that we’ll use our as a Freeport as a force for good, to help build an economy that works for everyone in our region.
"I want to attract investors into our region who believe in and support our local ambitions – those who will help us to protect workers’ rights and uphold standards, and who want to work with us to regenerate and invest in the areas that need it most.
"Our Freeport will offer lots of opportunities for the Liverpool City Region. It’s my vision to ensure that there is purpose behind that status – that not only drives our economy, but fuels greater social mobility, innovation, and inclusion for our whole region."
The LCR Freeport extends to a 45km zone beyond the port itself, and includes three major regeneration sites in Birkenhead, St Helens and Widnes and multiple customs site operations.
John Lucy, the Liverpool City Region freeport director, added: "Having our outline business case accepted is a hugely significant step towards our Freeport becoming operational and attracting businesses to take advantage of the full range of benefits we can offer, which will in turn create thousands of sustainable, high-quality jobs.
"We will attract additional trade through the port of Liverpool but the Freeport will bring benefits for the whole of the Liverpool City Region, extending as it does over a large part of our region with a number of sites offering benefits to businesses.
"There’s a comprehensive measure of packages that includes tax relief and support for customs, business rates, planning, regeneration, R&D and upskilling to name just a few.
"At the same time, new technologies and sustainable innovations are taking centre stage and providing answers to the challenges that a lot of large, complex companies are facing."
