NI construction firm, McLaughlin & Harvey has announced that it is building a 75,000 metre squared Ministry of Defence (MOD) storage facility in Longtown, Cumbria.

MOD's Longtown facility, which is a £86 million contract, will be the size of 12 football pitches and will be built on a brownfield site within the Longtown estate.

This new facility will provide greater resilience for UK Defence by enhancing MOD's existing strategic warehouse sites in both Shropshire and Oxfordshire and will also allow older warehousing to be retired.

The works will enhance the MOD's storage capacity which will strengthen industrial activity across the UK, supporting approximately 150 high-quality, skilled jobs in Scotland and a further 300 in the North of England, growing the economy across both sides of the border.

John Farrow, DE&S Director, Logistics and Support Operating Centre, said: "The new warehouse will provide the UK with additional modern storage facilities, building on the success of similar facilities in Donnington, that will ensure assets are available more rapidly to meet surges in demand. This contract represents a fantastic example of the progress we have made in developing and implementing fit-for-purpose facilities that is helping to accelerate our mission of equipping and supporting our UK armed forces today and tomorrow."

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Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidge, said: "I am delighted that work is being done at DM Longtown by McLaughlin & Harvey. Longtown is a hugely important, strategic facility and contributes much to the operational capability of Defence. This work also highlights the number of people at the facility who work cross-border and that Defence is a pan-UK business, involving contractors from right across the UK, to keep its people and allies safe."

Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, said: "I welcome this multi-million-pound UK Government defence investment and the hundreds of jobs it will support in Scotland and Cumbria. This giant facility will help ensure kit used by our armed forces is stored in the best possible condition and can be deployed speedily. The Ministry of Defence invests more than £2 billion annually with industry and commerce in Scotland and this project is another great example of how such expenditure is growing the economy and creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country."

The project is due to be completed in October 2024.