A WHOPPING £38 million investment in a new facility to build wind turbine towers at Chepstow will create 240 new skilled jobs.

Providing planning approval goes through Chepstow-based engineering firm Mabey Bridge will become the biggest UK manufacturer of wind turbine towers, both for onshore and offshore applications.

The company, which specialises in large engineering projects including bridge-building, already employs 400 workers in factories at Chepstow and Lydney.

They recently purchased South Wales' largest speculative industrial unit along with 18 acres of land at Newhouse Farm Distribution Park for £13million.

The firm has lodged a planning application with Monmouthshire Council to double the size of the existing warehouse to allow the new fabrication facility for the towers to go ahead.

Managing director Peter Lloyd said: "This is a significant announcement which will provide a massive boost for the local economy, creating hundreds of jobs.

"The investment goes against the grain of the decline in the manufacturing sector in the UK and will put South Wales at the heart of the move towards a low carbon economy.

"We are forecasting that production at the facility will provide around half the UK's requirement for wind turbine towers, greatly reducing the need for developers to import."

Turbine towers up to 5m in diameter and 40m high will be built.

"Mabey Bridge already has a number of relationships in place with major wind turbine manufacturers meaning the factory will be running at full capacity in a relatively short period of time," said a spokesman. He said a planning decision was expected in the spring and if all went well the work would start this year.

The new site has direct access to the M48, M4 and is five miles from the M5 along with good access to nearby ports at Newport Dock, Avonmouth, Bristol Dock and Cardiff Dock.

Chepstow town clerk said she and her council were "absolutely delighted' with the news.

"It's all the better because we have a good relationship with Mabey Bridge. They have shown excellent community spirit," she said.