Finance Minister views progress as Swansea Bay Campus nears completion

Finance and Government Business Minister, Jane Hutt, has today seen first-hand the progress of Swansea University’s new Bay Campus during a visit to Swansea.

The Minister was in Swansea as part of the Welsh Government Budget Tour to hear the views and experiences of staff delivering public services about the Welsh Government’s draft budget and investment priorities.

As part of the visit, the Minister toured the Bay Campus, which is nearing completion and set to open its doors to almost 5,000 students in September.

The £450 million Campus, which has been backed by Welsh Government and EU funds, has been developed over 65 acres and will house the University’s new Innovation Hub and Engineering Manufacturing Centre.

The Campus will provide the university with world-class facilities for industrial research and development in engineering, advanced materials and manufacturing, and will offer a state-of-the-art learning environment for students.

The development is amongst the top five knowledge economy projects in Europe and aims to generate around £3 billion of economic impact over a 10-year period through construction activity, research, and student and business investment.

Recent figures revealed that almost 7.000 people have worked at the Bay Campus since June 2013.

When completed, the Campus will be one of Wales’ most recognisable symbols of EU investment having secured £40 million of European Structural Funds through the Welsh Government and a finance package of £60 million from the European Investment Bank.

Finance Minister, Jane Hutt, said:

“It’s fantastic to see this project coming to fruition. The Bay Campus will bring cutting-edge research to Swansea and will play a key role in developing the manufacturing and high technology sectors in Wales.

“It’s also important to recognise the scale of EU support for this development. I’m delighted that £100 million has been secured through EU sources, and just last week I met with the European Investment Bank to look at additional financing opportunities for Wales through the new European Fund for Strategic Investment.

“The new Bay Campus in Swansea is a landmark EU investment, and I’m pleased that a further £310 million of EU funds will be invested in research and innovation over the next five years to generate economic growth through stronger links between business and universities in Wales.”

Iwan Davies, senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Swansea University, said:

“Our science and innovation Bay Campus is one of  the largest knowledge economy projects in Europe and is driving the regeneration of the Swansea Bay city region and beyond.

“It would not have been possible without the support and funding provided by Welsh Government and the EU, so I was delighted to welcome the Finance Minister back to the campus now that is almost complete and ready to open to students in September.”