Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young visits Portsmouth International Port new carbon neutral terminal extension.
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00:00 Hi, I'm Jacob Young and I'm the Minister for Leveling Up.
00:03 Great. So what do you think of the Carbon Neutral Terminal Extension?
00:08 Well, it's been absolutely fantastic to come and visit the Terminal Extension today and to hear about how the plans to take new cruise ships in,
00:16 to bring more customers to Portsmouth and to see Portsmouth and the amazing things that are going on in this city.
00:24 And I'm really pleased that we've been able to support this building with £11 million of levelling up funding from the UK Government as well.
00:31 So it's been really fantastic to come and see it today.
00:33 Amazing. And has the local economy benefited from the project yet?
00:38 Well, I've been speaking to the local council and the port operators today about how this project has helped transform the local economy.
00:47 And so some of that is in new job creation. So I think there was a few hundred jobs created actually building the port extension itself.
00:57 But also there's going to be further jobs created as we see more cruise ships coming in here.
01:02 But one of the key things I think that this brings is that carbon neutrality, which means air quality is improved, which can only be a good thing for people in the city.
01:12 Great. And when can local people start to see the other planned levelling up projects come to fruition?
01:18 Well, I think it's fantastic that we're supporting Portsmouth with more than £30 million of levelling up funding,
01:25 whether that's this project or some of the towns funding projects that we're investing in as well.
01:32 Over the next couple of years, people will see their communities start to change.
01:35 And I think that's a fantastic thing that we're investing directly today from UK government into this amazing city.
01:42 And lastly, so what are your aims to help coastal communities like Portsmouth?
01:48 Well, coastal communities is really special to me because I'm a coastal MP myself up in the northeast of England,
01:55 and we're investing in coastal communities right the length and breadth of the country.
01:59 As I say, with levelling up funding like the one that's paid for this port extension or whether it's the community ownership fund, the towns fund, the future high streets fund,
02:08 we're ensuring that coastal communities the length and breadth of the country feel the benefits of levelling up.
02:14 But I think the key thing to remind ourselves that actually levelling up is important in coastal communities.
02:19 It's important in city centres, in towns, urban centres, rural communities as well.
02:24 But it's been fantastic to see some of the investment that we're making today in Portsmouth.
02:29 to man.