SOUTHAMPTON PORT TO RECEIVE £1.75M INVESTMENT

The Port of Southampton is to receive a £17.5 million joint investment from Associated British Ports (ABP) and port operator Solent Stevedores.

It will fund a new container offering for deep sea shipping lines at the port.

The cash injection will create an 18-acre facility to connect the existing intermodal rail transport site with the empty container processing facility within a single boundary.

The project is expected to be finished late next year.

By strengthening the rail offering at the Port of Southampton, ABP says it will give customers greater choice over container placement and storage.

Alastair Welch, Regional Director at the Port of Southampton, said: “This investment not only enhances our containers customer offer, it is also part of the Port of Southampton’s multimodal strategy into the future and our commitment to help improve air quality in the local area.”

The project will introduce 84 reefer plug points to assist with the transport of perishable goods and a new track design enabling trains to arrive and depart at the terminal independently on any of the three lines.

To allow the rail terminal to remain in operation, the work will take place in three stages, eventually increasing capacity for cargo to enter and leave the port.