DP World has announced that Southampton’s container terminal, the second largest in Britain, is to receive a £40m investment to take the site ‘to the next level’.
DP World Southampton will utilise the funding throughout 2021 to provide their customers with speed, security, reliability and flexibility.
The investment will be put towards several improvements:
- A new Border Control Post (BCP), including UK Border Force and port health inspection facilities, will be built to enable multiple government agencies to perform checks on cargo entering the country
- Berths will be dredged and widened to ensure the terminal can accommodate the largest ships
- £10m will be spent on 11 new hybrid straddle carriers
- £3m will be used to redevelop the yard, readying it for the storage and delivery of customers’ empty containers
- £1.5m will go towards the extension of a quay crane rail by 120 metres so that cranes can service all berths at the terminal.
Ernst Schulze, Chief Executive of DP World in the UK, has called Southampton ‘the most productive port in Britain’, going on to say that it ‘turns container trucks around faster than any of its competitors, and at 30 per cent also has the highest proportion of its containers moved by rail’.
He added: ‘At DP World we think ahead to create smarter trade solutions and this £40m programme of investment will ensure that our Southampton terminal continues to grow as a major freight and logistics hub.
‘Our aim is to partner in our customers’ business success and we are already seeing a surge of interest from companies which want to take advantage of the customs zone and tax benefits resulting from Southampton and London Gateway becoming Freeports.’
