The International Manufacturing Park (IAMP) is being delivered in a joint venture between Sunderland City Council and South Tyneside Council, with Henry Boot Developments (HBD) as delivery partner.
The first phase, IAMP One, covers 125 acres next to the Nissan plant and will provide 1.6m sq ft of advanced manufacturing and industrial space.
The 126,279 sq ft CESAM facility is being built to help give manufacturers access to innovation, adoption and knowledge transfer.
Covering 10.6 acres, the building will have office space, a production facility and yard, along with 300 car parking spaces. The build programme is 37 weeks.
GMI divisional managing director Lee Powell said: “GMI are absolutely delighted to have been instructed on this game-changing north east development by our trusted client, Henry Boot Developments. In recent years, we have received numerous instructions to build automotive and manufacturing developments, which this project is a further example of.”
Henry Boot regional manager Tom Wheldon said: “IAMP offers a unique opportunity for advanced manufacturing businesses to supercharge their growth targets, and will no doubt prove the perfect location for CESAM’s manufacturing and teaching facility.
“IAMP is a game-changing scheme for the northeast – with its port connections, strong local skills base, significant power capacity and connectivity, there is no better location for companies in the automotive and advanced manufacturing industries. It will bring significant investment and employment returns into the area and we’ve been very encouraged by conversations taking place with prospective occupiers.”
Sunderland City Council leader Graeme Miller said: “In the face of ongoing uncertainty created by Brexit, as well global challenges facing the automotive sector, we are working as hard as we possibly can to ensure IAMP continues to attract investment, and the CESAM building will bolster IAMP as the place of choice for industry for all kinds of manufacturers – including automotive. This is an ambitious development and one that is gathering momentum. Our ambition for IAMP is to diversify our economy and create many thousands of jobs for decades to come. The strong pipeline of interest we have gained from a broad range of manufacturing industries backs that up.”
The project team on the development includes CMPG Architects, WYG as structural engineer WYG and Rex Procter & Partners as quantity surveyor.
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