2025 was a landmark year for the Swansea Bay City Deal (SBCD), marking the halfway point in its ambitious 15-year delivery plan to transform South West Wales. With major construction projects completed, new facilities opened, and thousands of skills opportunities delivered, the region is seeing tangible benefits from this £1.3 billion investment.
The City Deal is an unprecedented investment funded by the Welsh Government and UK Government, the public sector, and the private sector across the counites of Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. It will help transform South West Wales’ urban and rural areas into a place where businesses can thrive, and residents can boost their skills and gain access to over 9,000 well-paid job opportunities.
Throughout the year, the three regional projects achieved several key milestones.
The Skills and Talent programme progressed delivery of over 30 pilot projects by working with industry, to ensure the new skills of the future were met to benefit the region. Two pilot projects funded via the programme – Destination Renewables and Sustainable Power, Renewables and Construction (SPARC) – won further awards, demonstrating recognition that the project is meeting industry needs. More than 26,000 enhanced skills opportunities and 38 new course frameworks have been delivered to date, exceeding original targets. The programme continued to build on strategic partnerships in both the public and private sectors to ensure the region benefits from a skilled workforce to meet immediate industry demand, as well as the skills needs of the future.
The Homes as Power Stations (HAPS) project is driving the adoption of energy-efficient design and renewable technologies in homes. Having already launched the Financial Incentives Fund in 2024 most of the £5.75m was allocated to 22 housing schemes, benefiting over 500 homes with renewable technologies across the region. HAPS launched its Supply Chain Fund, which is a £7 million fund supporting the development of a sustainable regional supply chain. The project also hosted their first event in collaboration with Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Architecture to discuss the Technical Monitoring and Evaluation of the housing schemes and to share the learning with social landlords.
The Digital Infrastructure programme also delivered significant progress, enhancing connectivity across South West Wales. Key achievements include the Better Broadband Infill Project to connect over 1,500 hard-to-reach premises, a £1.9 million full-fibre upgrade for 69 public-sector sites, and new open access agreements in Swansea to boost mobile infrastructure. Major projects like Dark Fibre East and Dark Fibre Carmarthenshire are advancing collaboration and smarter services, while commercial partnerships have brought fibre broadband to tens of thousands of homes. Alongside infrastructure, the programme has driven social value initiatives to close the digital divide, ensuring communities benefit from improved access and opportunities.
The location-based projects also celebrated success and achieved key milestones in 2025.
Swansea city centre saw the official opening of 71/72 Kingsway in the summer. Developed by Swansea Council, the new office scheme has already welcomed exciting tenants including travel and leisure operator TUI, Amazon owned Welsh start-up Veeqo, flexible workspace provider IWG, and financial company Futures First. This means office space at the building is now 80% let, with further tenant announcements anticipated in the early new year.
University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) officially opened the Innovation Matrix in the spring – a state-of-the-art building that connects business and academia. Now fully occupied with more than 22 businesses it has quickly become a vibrant hub for digital innovation, entrepreneurship and cross-sector collaboration.
Swansea Building Society Arena celebrated over 3 years of operation, welcomed over 245,000 visitors during 2025 and over 910,000 since it first opened. Headline performances included The Manic Street Preachers, Paddy McGuinness and Alison Moyet, as well as diverse range of events, conferences and ceremonies.
Canolfan Pentre Awel, led by Carmarthenshire County Council, opened its doors to the public in October and the official opening attended by Welsh Government and UK Government Ministers took place in December. As one of the largest regeneration schemes in South-West Wales, this is a state-of-the art facility combining medical research and business incubation, healthcare delivery, education and training along with leisure facilities to encourage people to lead active, healthy lifestyles.
The National Institute for Sport & Health (NISH), led by Swansea University has enjoyed another significant period of progress and recognition, welcomed the Secretary of State for Wales on a visit to the project and showcased its facilities to industry leaders. NISH was proud to be named a runner-up for the MediWales Innovation Award, sponsored the Sports Technology Awards, and hosted a panel discussion at the 4theRegion Swansea City Conference. A new partnership was announced with the Ospreys and Vodafone were welcomed as new tenants to the University. The project also started seeing the real impact from the Health Needs Assessment with ARCH (A Regional Collaboration for Health).
Progress was also made on the Supporting Innovation and Low Carbon Growth programme led by Neath Port Talbot Council. Plans were approved for the new SWITCH facility in Harbourside, and pre-construction activity began. Once complete, this collaborative innovation centre will assist in the decarbonisation of the steel and metals industry and its supply chain and strengthen collaboration between industry and academia and to future-proof the steel and metals industry in Wales and the UK. Further tenants were welcomed into the energy positive and award-winning Bay Technology Centre, which is now close to being fully occupied. Two projects were completed as part of the Property Development Fund Phase 1, with a further two projects underway, and applications for Phase 2 opened. Land was also acquired for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Facility.
Yr Egin, located on UWTSD’s Carmarthen campus and home to S4C’s headquarters alongside 15 creative and digital companies, was fully occupied throughout 2025. The creative sector hub marked seven successful years of operation with a programme of major events, screenings, performances and educational workshops, and delivered high-quality livestreaming, post-production and hot-desking facilities to a wide range of clients and businesses.
The Pembroke Dock Marine also hit key milestones. Pembroke Port continued commercial operations at the laydown space and workboat pontoons and additional tenants were welcomed to the Hangar Annexes. The Port of Milford Haven were also accredited as a ‘Great Place to Work Certified Organisation’ for the third consecutive year. The Marine Energy Test Area (META) provided pre-consented, real-sea testing facilities for marine energy technologies. Building on the success of META, the Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence project leveraged private sector investment through university- and industry-led projects. The Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone utilised its lease area to support the development and validation of emerging wave and tidal technologies.
Looking ahead to 2026, the City Deal will continue to accelerate delivery, with major projects such as SWITCH and NISH entering construction and further investment in digital connectivity and renewable energy.
Councillor Rob Stewart, Chairman of the Swansea Bay City Deal’s Joint Committee, said
“Progress of the City Deal during 2025 has been excellent, and it is great to see so many of our buildings now open and in operation. We will continue to invest in South West Wales through the City Deal and other complementary initiatives over the next 12 months, as we strive to transform our region and build a better future for us all. I am honoured to be part of this exciting journey and look forward to the opportunities and achievements still to come.”
