The expansion of the port of Tilbury, UK, is to start shortly after owner Forth Ports Group received consent from the government to build Tilbury2 on the site of an old power station, 61.5 ha in size. It is located next to the existing 376 ha port at Thurrock, east of Greater London. The construction project has been awarded to GRAHAM. The expansion is set to cost £200m and will include new rail and road connections, storage areas for vehicle imports and exports, a deep-water jetty, a floating pontoon, and a ro-ro terminal for containers and trailers going to northern Europe, in partnership with P&O Ferries. Tilbury2 will serve the construction industry and commercial ferry traffic, which carries consumer goods, perishables and steel between mainland Europe and the UK, as well as the automotive sector.
Forth Ports Group said Tilbury’s business had doubled in the past decade and the volume of cargo it handled was projected to double to 32m tonnes in the next 10 to 15 years. Expansion is essential for the port to cope with rising demand for imported and exported cars and from other sectors it serves.
The port is said to begin operating in the second quarter of 2020 and will become the UK’s largest unaccompanied ferry port and biggest construction processing hub, with authorised economic operator status from the British government. The development comes despite a continuing lack of agreement about trade and other related arrangements with the European Union (EU) ahead of the UK’s scheduled departure from the trading bloc on March, 29. Brexit remains a major concern for the automotive sector in terms of potential additional customs requirements adding costs and complexity.
Tilbury2, Forth Ports’ Chief Executive Officer, Charles Hammond, commented, “It will deliver much-needed port capacity to support businesses importing and exporting to and from Europe and the rest of the world. The terminal will be fit-for-purpose for the UK’s departure from the European Union, utilising the latest technology and streamlined border processes, in support of continued market demand created by business growth.”
Source: Automotive Logistics
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