China invests in Britain’s first Airport City
China is investing in Britain’s first Airport City, creating 16,000 new jobs in Manchester.
The deal with the Beijing Construction Engineering Group, was announced by George Osborne during a visit to China – one of the largest ever British-Chinese ventures.
The Chancellor also announced changes to the visa system to attract more Chinese tourists to the UK, see other story.
Other investors in the £800 million joint venture in Manchester are Carillion PLC and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
Initial planning permission was given for the project, which will take 15 years to complete, at the start of 2013.
It will see Manchester compete alongside other European "Airport Cities" in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Barcelona.
The development will provide over 5 million square feet of business space, including manufacturing, warehousing, offices, hotels, retail and leisure outlets across a 160 acre regeneration site and create over 16,000 jobs.
The first area for development will be adjacent to the airport railway station, and north of the M56 motorway and will mainly consist of hotel, office, and manufacturing facilities.
The second core site will be situated nearby the existing cargo centre near junction 6 of the M56.
Manchester Airport is currently used by over 20 million passengers annually and has flights to more than 200 global destinations.
Over 6.5 million people (8% of the UK population) live in Manchester and the North West area, accounting for 11% of UK GDP.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has been actively looking to the Far East for a direct airline service between Manchester and China in the last year.
MAG’s Chief Executive, Charlie Cornish, is the chair of the Manchester-China Forum, a new business-led initiative aimed at increasing Greater Manchester’s commercial connectivity with China.
Diane
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