SCOTTISH Secretary Ian Murray is to launch a £250 million investment at the base housing the UK's nuclear weapons.
The funding for HMNB Clyde at Faslane was announced in the spending review last month and will be spent over the next three years to improve infrastructure at the site.
The upgrade will ensure the base can house the next generation of nuclear submarines.
UK Government ministers Murray and Maria Eagle will visit the site on Wednesday, meeting with senior military officials, the leaders of Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute councils, and local MPs.
Scottish Secretary Murray described the spending as a “defence dividend” as he continued to talk up the economic impact of investing in the sector in Scotland, including through the Clyde 2070 programme, which will see billions pumped into the industry in the coming decades.“With Faslane home to the nation’s first and final line of defence – the UK’s nuclear deterrent, it’s only right that Clyde 2070 represents one of the most significant UK Government investments over the coming decades,” he said.
“It will ensure the Royal Navy can deliver the continuous at sea deterrent from a modern, efficient base which will result in a better environment for our hero submariners to live, work and train in.
“Crucially it will also create skilled jobs – including for small and medium-size firms – boost the economy and help tackle the critical skills gaps facing the country in sectors such as nuclear, construction, maritime and project management, by bringing together government, Scottish communities, industry, supply chains and academia to address the challenges.”
Defence procurement minister Eagle said Scotland plays a “crucial role” in the country’s Trident nuclear deterrent.
She added: “We are today re-affirming that unshakeable commitment by launching this multibillion-pound investment to His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, which is vital to our deterrence capability.
“The initial £250 million of funding over three years will support jobs, skills and growth across the west of Scotland.
“This Government will keep the UK safe for generations to come while delivering on the Plan for Change and making defence an engine for growth.”
The SNP's defence spokesperson, Dave Doogan, commented: "Westminster has spent decades slashing defence spending in Scotland and depleting our armed forces capabilities – cutting Scottish regiments, personnel, ships, aircraft and with it, eroding the relevance of defence within Scottish communities which is so vital to recruitment and retention.
"The UK must now regroup with our European allies on defence procurement and manufacturing rather than revelling in being isolated from the EU while being dismissed by the US at the same time.
"The need for this strategic and pragmatic way forward, to galvanise Euro-Atlantic security, was made abundantly clear when the EU penned an €800bn defence deal with the increasingly irrelevant UK very much looking in from the outside."
