The Welsh Government has made significant progress in its plans to establish a second Advanced Manufacturing and Research Institute (AMRI) in North Wales.

Economy secretary Ken Skates confirmed that the Welsh Government intends to work with the Enterprise Zone Board and the Defence Electronics and Components Agency (DECA) on a proposal that would see the second AMRI located on MoD land next to the Deeside Industrial Park Interchange.

The first AMRI is currently under construction in Broughton and is due to open by the end of 2019.

Mr Skates said: “News that DECA is keen to work with us to develop an AMRI on Deeside is incredibly exciting, particularly given DECA’s prominence as a world leader in the test and repair of avionic and electronic component support services.

"In developing our plans for Wales’s second AMRI, we have listened carefully to the needs of business.


"As a result, we intend to develop the second AMRI as an open-access centre, which will include a real focus on skills development in the advanced manufacturing and materials and technology sectors.

“I am confident that the second AMRI in Wales will be of huge benefit to companies across North Wales, including in the aerospace sector, and I look forward to attracting significant high-value inward investors to the region, many of whom are already showing a keen interest.”