Plans revealed for factory that could create 1,500 jobs

JOB creating proposals for a major electricity cable factory on the banks of the Tyne have gone on show to the public.

- TOM KEIGHLEY

LS Eco Advanced Cables Ltd (LSEAC) - a joint venture between UK business Global InterConnection Group (GIG) and a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate LS Group - has started an eight-week consultation on plans to build a £923m high voltage cable-making factory in South Shields. The facility could potentially create 500 new jobs directly, and 1,000 more in the wider supply chain.

A five-week public consultation has been launched on the plans for the Tyne Renewables Quay site at Tyne Dock on the south bank of the river, next to the port's car terminal facilities.

The proposals, first talked of last year, are said to be at an early stage with local residents, businesses and community organisations encouraged to give their feedback before an application is submitted to South Tyneside Council later this year.

The factory complex could include manufacturing space, testing facilities and offices as well as a 202-metre tall tower where the cables could be stretched and sheathed. LSEAC, which needs to raise substantial funds for the project, had originally indicated it hoped to start production in 2027.

Sangdon Lee, director at LSEAC, said: "At a time when the UK is moving ever-more-quickly to decarbonising its energy supply, now more than ever there is a huge need for the infrastructure underpinning that transition.