The meeting detailed the major economic opportunities for the local area that could see thousands of new jobs created and hundreds of millions of pounds of new investment being made through the Growth Deal initiative.

Almost 250 delegates at the Falkirk and Grangemouth Investment Zone conference heard that the area, already a major contributor to the Scottish economy through the INEOS oil refinery and petrochemical plant, the largest container port in the country at Grangemouth and two of the most talked about tourist destinations in recent years (The Kelpies and The Falkirk Wheel), is ready for significant investment with over £2 billion of private sector investment planned or already underway.

Overall, since 2009 there has been continued growth in the local tourism sector:

• 74.4% increase in the economic impact
• 57% increase in visitor numbers
• 30.6% increase in visitor days
• 27.6% increase in employment

Investment plans in The Falkirk and Grangemouth Investment Zone include over £900m by INEOS at its Grangemouth site, £150m from CalaChem into its energy from waste plant, £100m for Grangemouth flood defences and an £80m plus investment in a new STEM focused campus at Forth Valley College.

The region, which is home to some of Scotland’s most important economic sectors - chemicals, petrochemicals, logistics and tourism – is seeking £235m from the national Growth Deal initiative to enhance the economic infrastructure and innovation capability of the area and move towards a net-zero carbon future.

The importance of the Investment Zone to the local and wider Scottish economies was highlighted with figures showing that up to 6,000 new jobs could be created with £3bn generated for Scotland.

Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council, said: “The major investment already being made by chemicals, manufacturing, logistics and tourism businesses in the area is great news. It means that we must also make transformational public sector investment in the region’s infrastructure so the area can build on its current position as one of Scotland’s economic hot spots. This is why the Investment Zone is so important for Falkirk and Grangemouth.”