Multimillion-pound deal approved for airport manufacturing scheme

A multimillion-pound commercial loan has been approved by the Tees Valley Combined Authority to provide early infrastructure works on Teesside International Airport’s (TIA) logistics and manufacturing park development.TIA intends to transform the 270 acre southside of the site into 3.4 million sq ft of logistic, manufacturing and commercial space, providing opportunities for more than £200m of inward investment, as well as the creation of 4,400 jobs. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen signed off on the £23.6m commercial loan, which allows infrastructure work to be carried out, including the provision of road access, utilities and flood mitigation works.To be repaid throughout the period of development, the agreement also means that TIA enters into a joint venture partnership with the private sector, allowing it to access private sector capacity and expertise to successfully deliver the business park and ensure a commercially positive investment.Running parallel to the runway, the site can provide direct airside access for businesses in the aviation and airport related industries, building on existing aviation businesses based at the airport, with the most significant being Cobham.