Peel Ports to build £300 million Mersey container terminal

Liverpool 2 will be able to handle the world's largest vessels on completion in 2015
£300 million project will provide the region with over 5,000 jobs
Peel Ports has today announced the construction of a new deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool.
Liverpool 2, which will cost in excess of £300 million, will bring some of the world’s largest container ships to the Mersey when it opens for business in 2015, while providing the region with over 5,000 jobs.
The terminal is the key project in the Mersey Ports Master Plan, a 20-year vision for the growth and future development of both the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal, launched by Peel Ports in the summer of last year.
“By any standard it is a significant development and a major investment,” said Gary Hodgson, Peel Ports Mersey Managing Director.
“By commencing the procurement process today, we have shown our commitment to the building of Liverpool 2.”
The new terminal will be able to accommodate two vessels of up to 13,500 TEU, and will provide shippers and lines with a new and direct route to the heart of the UK.
The terminal will also facilitate improved trans-shipment links to Ireland and Scotland through Liverpool’s existing services, said Peel Ports.
The development consists of the construction of a new deep water container terminal in the River Mersey, thus avoiding the vessel size restrictions of the current container terminal.
Peel Ports added that Liverpool 2 will connect directly to a number of port centric logistics hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal via barge resulting in the development of the UK’s first “green logistics hub”, which will reduce costs, congestion and carbon footprints for businesses located in the North West of England, serving the North of the UK.
“This is a clear message to the industry, to our stakeholders and to the community in the Merseyside Region and the greater North West that we are serious about the growth and investment we outlined in the Mersey Ports Master Plan consultation last year,” added Hodgson.
“It is great news for our customers and for the people of the North West of England, both of whom will see massive benefits from Liverpool 2.”Hodgson also assured the local community that the impact of construction will be minimized.
“Where possible, we will source goods and services locally, however when we need to source goods over a longer distance, we will seek to transport construction materials by sea directly to the Port,” he added.
The construction programme includes a new 854 meter quay wall, the in-filling of the newly created land-mass, and the dredging of a new 16.5 meter deep berthing pocket adjacent to the quay wall. The port operator will also install a number of ship to shore quay cranes, modern cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs).
The company also announced the appointment of Douglas Coleman, one of the UK’s most experienced ports project directors, as the Programme Director for Liverpool 2.
Peel Ports will now seek contractors for the first phase of the projects construction.
“We anticipate massive interest from companies throughout the ports construction industry. This is a technically complex project, but eminently achievable,” said Coleman.
The sheer scale of the Liverpool 2 project can be shown by the quantities of materials, which are needed in the construction phase, with the quay wall requiring
30,000 metres3 of concrete, 15,000 meters of steel piles and 6100 meters of new crane rails.
Dredging of the berthing pocket will remove around one million metres3 of material from the Mersey; and almost three million metres3 of infill material will be required to create the new container area.
Associated infrastructure will require the construction of 3500 meters of new road, 230,000 metres2 of surfacing and 2500 meters of fencing.