Decision on port jobs is due

Sep 18 2007 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

PLANS for a £300m deep sea container terminal which could create more than 5,500 jobs in the North-East are set to be approved within the next six months.

PD Ports, which owns Teesport in Middlesbrough, is “very confident” it will receive the go-ahead for its ambitious plans after the firm came to an agreement with the only group standing in its way.

The Northern Gateway project had been threatened by the objections of rival firm Hutchinson Ports who had concerns about the transport infrastructure near Teesport.

PD Ports bosses have now agreed to invest a significant amount of cash into improving the road and rail facilities within a three-mile radius of the new port.

The company now firmly expects the Government’s Department for Transport (DFT) to give the green light to the project which could be completed by 2010. The Northern Gateway is expected to double PD Ports’ workforce to 1,600 and is likely to indirectly employ a further 5,000 at the port through various channels and in its construction.

PD Ports chief executive David Robinson said: “We expect a decision within four to six months and there’s even an outside chance of a decision before Christmas.

“We are very confident and it’s a process which we have been told is relatively straight forward. My understanding is that the DFT is very keen and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be.”

If the new facility is rubber stamped by the Government it will significantly increase PD Ports’ cargo handling capacity from 300,000 to 1.8 million twenty foot equivalent units a year.

Meanwhile the project has been welcomed by regional development agency One NorthEast. Alan Clarke, chief executive of the group, said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news, not only for PD Ports, but for the Tees Valley and North-East England.

“PD Ports is already an important employer in the region, providing over 500 jobs directly and a further 1,300 indirectly, contributing £250m GVA to our economy.

“The deep sea container terminal could strengthen our bid to narrow the productivity gap between the region and the rest of the UK, and helping us achieve our aim of being a leading location for national and international businesses. It could also deliver environmental benefits by removing north-destined road freight which currently lands in the south of the country.”