£1.7bn of port infrastructure in development

The research, published by The British Ports Association (BPA), is part of the association’s ‘Port Futures’ programme and captures significant schemes all over the UK and highlights how ports in all parts of the UK are investing in new facilities to foster growth in the UK market.

Mark Simmonds, BPA policy manager and BPA Port Futures programme coordinator, said: “Ports are doing their bit but we rely on Government to ensure that road and rail connections from the port gate are fit for purpose. The terrestrial and marine planning and consenting process is also cumbersome and costly and often holds back or even prevents some sustainable port development.

“We hope that this report helps Government to develop an accurate picture of the investment that industry is making when developing its policies and making its own investment decisions regarding infrastructure”

The BPA will be writing to the Infrastructure Projects Authority to ensure that officials have a clear picture of industry investment, highlighting significant projects such as Aberdeen’s £350m new ‘south harbour’ project and the Port of Tyne’s £38m investment in in support of an overall £300m development of a new biomass plant.

Moffatt & Nichol undertook the assessment using publicly sourced data taken from the last 12months.