The board and senior management of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are being updated on the regeneration of the village of Kinlochleven as they carry out a two-day working visit to Lochaber this week (Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th November).

Alcan Smelting and Power UK announced five years ago that the Kinlochleven smelter would close, and since then Lochaber Limited has invested over £1 million towards the £3.5 million fund assembly undertaken by the Kinlochleven Land Development Trust. This has been invested in the area providing business units for lease, attracting inward investors and contributing to several environmental improvement projects.

This morning (Monday 13th) the board are in the village to see a variety of projects including the Blackwater Hostel. The former laboratory building is now a 40-bed hostel following a £250,000 refurbishment which was supported by Lochaber Limited and the Kinlochleven Land Development Trust. The hostel now employs 5 full-time staff.

The party are also visiting the Kinlocheven Business Park where they will see the result of major renovation work which was carried out on the former carbon bunkers, turning one into a suitable facility to house a microbrewery and developing the other as a potential outdoor activity centre.

Call centre operators, Database Direct will also play host to the HIE board and senior management as they look around the company's satellite call centre which was established in the village in 1998. Database Direct, who employ 16 full-time employees in Kinlochleven, are considering increasing their local workforce by expanding into an adjacent unit.

Tomorrow (Tuesday 14th) the party will be shown around Marine Harvest Scotland's new building at the Blar Mhor Industrial Estate in Fort William. Lochaber Limited supported the £1.6 million project with an investment package worth £215,000.(The new facility has boosted the workforce to 180 full-time employees and allowed Marine Harvest Scotland Ltd, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based aquaculture company Nutreco Holdings, to increase production capacity from 16,000 to 23,000 tonnes per year.

Finally, the board will meet Andy Rogers, mill manager with paper manufacturers Arjo Wiggins in Fort William and chairman of Lochaber Limited.

Chief executive at Lochaber Limited, Jackie Wright said: "The HIE board will have the opportunity to see the extensive work being carried out in Kinlochleven, breathing new life into the village following the closure of the smelter earlier this year.

"There are still a lot of challenges to be met but by working in partnership with other agencies, such as the Kinlochleven Land Development Trust, we can help boost the economic activity of the area and improve community confidence."

Most HIE board meetings are held away from the development agency's Inverness headquarters to enable board members to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of individual local enterprise company areas.

This week's visit to Lochaber is the first HIE board meeting for Sandy Cumming since being appointed chief executive of the development agency two weeks ago.