£16 million investment into low-carbon HGVs in Cwmbran

Welsh Secretary Simon Hart will announce today the funding in digital infrastructure, providing financial backing for green industry and supporting jobs and growth across Wales.

Mr Hart said: “We have made clear our commitment to level up across Wales and the whole of the United Kingdom and we are now delivering on this commitment with a comprehensive plan of action.

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“From improvements in local infrastructure through our £4.8 billion levelling-up fund, to the development of new green jobs of the future, this Plan for Wales brings together an ambitious programme of renewal that will generate jobs and prosperity in our local communities for years to come.

“My mission is to underscore the role of the UK Government in Wales as a force for good and highlight that we are ready to work with – not in competition against – decision makers in Wales, especially local authorities, in delivering these ambitions.

“They are best placed to determine both how to meet the specific needs of their areas and what will have the greatest impact.”

Other projects the UK Government will invest in include more than £40 million to support a cluster of industries in South Wales to transition to net-zero, supporting the emergence of floating offshore wind projects in the Celtic Sea, a £1 billion rural connectivity deal to deliver 80 per cent 4G mobile coverage from all four operators across Wales and 95 per cent coverage from at least one, and delivering the first-ever Freeport in Wales.

Mr Hart said: “The Union has also been instrumental in bringing together our collective scientific and industrial capacity, our purchasing power and financial strength, to deliver a world-class vaccination programme which has given us a path out of lockdown.

“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, it is now time to look ahead to the opportunities and ambitions that will shape our future and we have developed an incredibly ambitious plan for Wales which will deliver jobs, growth and innovation in the years to come.”