Plans to build a new glass bottle manufacturing plant in Ebbw Vale, set to crate 600 jobs, have been revealed.

Ciner Glass wants to open the facility on the Rassau Industrial Estate with operations starting in 2023 and full production the following year.

The proposed development includes warehouse facilities for storing glass bottles and two furnaces and chimney stacks up to 75 metres high.

Production lines for the manufacturing, inspection and packaging of glass bottles including pallet storage facilities are also planned, along with two buildings used to process rejected and recycled glass.

A scoping report – which is normally submitted before a planning application to consider environmental impacts – has been submitted to Blaenau Gwent council giving some details of the plans.

“Typically glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers,” the report says. “Glass production proposed by Ciner Glass Ltd is the production of container glass which consists of a three-part operation.

“The handling of raw material, the manufacturing of the glass containers and the product inspection and packaging process.”

Cllr Dai Davies, Blaenau Gwent’s executive member for regeneration and economic development, said the council is working with the Welsh Government and a private company on the scheme “to establish an advanced manufacturing facility”.

“A planning application is anticipated later this year subject to land and utilities being secured and the scheme will then be subject to extensive public consultation.”