Dredging work on Liverpool2, has begun with more than one million cubic meters of material being dredged to clear a deep-water channel at the UK’s Port of Liverpool, operated by Peel Ports.
The work – funded by a £35 million UK Government Regional Growth Fund – will create a 16.5m deep berthing pocket to secure access to the developing Liverpool2 terminal.
The Port, which currently carries more than 33 million tons of cargo a year has already seen increased interest from shipping lines and cargo owners. Over the last 18 months APL, Evergreen and Zim have started to offer weekly feeder connections into Liverpool; MSC and CMA have continued to grow their feeder volumes.
The £300 million investment will enable container ships from around the world to connect directly with the northern half of the UK and Ireland, serving an annual market estimated at around four million TEUs.
“This phase of the project marks the start of work on Liverpool2, our new £300 million container terminal,” said Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel Ports Group, parent company of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. “Liverpool2 sends a fantastic message to shippers and the wider international trade world – namely, that Liverpool is investing heavily to secure their business now and in the future.”
Due to be completed in 2015, the port’s deepwater container terminal will be able to accommodate two of the new breed of post Panamax container ships at any one time.
The new terminal is expected to create around 5,000 jobs.
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